Falling (in)to Pieces
by CallmeEevee
Summary: When ripped from her reality Eve Daniels discovers dark secrets as she is thrown into her favorite anime with less than favorable results. With danger at every turn, how will this fourteen year old Otaku survive? Armed with nothing more than an annoying rabbit with attachment issues and her own wit, "Things are about to get interesting." (I'm going to rewrite chapter One, and Two)
1. Don't tap the glass

Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever, own One Piece. That honor will always fall to Eiichiro Oda.

Please enjoy. :)

* * *

I looked around me seeing only an ocean, the white sand, and a familiar looking log cabin. I walked on the soft sand towards the cresting waves as they pounded the shore rhythmically. My feet left imprints in the sand behind me as I stared out to sea, the wind tossing my long blonde hair.

I halted in my musings for a moment as I thought I heard a whisper on the wind.

"E…v.."

I tilted my head to the side, not understanding what the wind had brought to me. I silently listened for a moment.

"E...ve…"

Eve? Now that's ridiculous, that's my nam-I jolted awake to the cruel laughter of my classmates. I sighed, brushing some of my light locks from my face. I had the decency to apologize to my kind Physics teacher, the only teacher I liked this year.

"I'm sorry Mr. Lariate, I don't know why I suddenly lost my focus." I apologised. My blue eyes met his chocolate ones as I waited for his verdict.

He sighed, running one of his impressively large hands through his scraggly, yet kempt auburn hair. "Eve, none of that please. I'll have to assign you detention today as per school rules, you know that."

I nodded, subtly wiping a near invisible amount of drool from the corner of my emotionless face. Though inside my mind was racing. This isn't like me, I don't usually fall asleep in class. Was it something I ate last night? Ugh, and it's only third period too! I internally groaned at the idea of spending the rest of the day listening to the rumors spread even more. Then I shrugged, not caring again. It's just how things are. I reasoned, returning my attention to the lesson. The rest of the period went by uneventfully, much to my silent relief. That's just how things are, every day. You don't show emotion, and it won't hurt.

* * *

Lunchtime came around and a grin immediately split my face as I spotted my friends, the only reason I came to that stupid school.

"Yo! Minna!~" I called out, waving energetically, my mask long forgotten in my haste. Even though I was the only One Piece fan in the group, I wasn't the only Otaku.

Lunch passed by in a blur of laughter and ear blasting chatter as we ate in a temporary state of bliss. _All good things must come to an end._ I thought bitterly, hoisting my back-breaking red, many-pocketed backpack back onto my shoulders. I waved a sad goodbye to my friends as we were all herded into our respective lines like mindless cattle, and my eyelids drooped once again as the usual dullness ensued.

* * *

After school ended I packed my bag for the umpteenth time that day and trudged off to Mr. Lariate's classroom. I hopped over a leg meant to trip me in the hallway, flashing the culprit a cheeky smile. I turned the corner and walked to his classroom's door. Knocking twice, I opened it and peeked my head in. I blinked for a moment before it finally sunk in. No one was here, the lights were off, the chairs stacked upside down on their respective tables. I stepped further inside, the chatter and sound of parading feet behind me fading as people either headed to the buses or their clubs. The walls were littered with a semi-orderly array of posters somehow relating to physics, or "Magic School Bus".

For some reason or another each of my teachers liked something either just plain weird, or something sadly long-forgotten by this generation. Well, I don't know how I'd classify Mrs. Hart's ladybug obsession. I think they're kind of cute...Well, more so than Miss Phillips' jar of dead kitten fetuses… I shivered at the thought of that disturbing jar that sat on my fourth period teacher's desk for all to see. Shaking my head, I focused on my current predicament. Giving the room one last once-over with my gaze, I blinked when I stupidly realized the light in the back was on. _That must be where he is, of course! I'm so stupid._ I sighed, briskly walking to the back, trying to push past my muddled thoughts.

I knocked on the wooden door with a quick rap of my knuckles. Not waiting for an answer I softly pushed the door open, peeking in.

"Mr. Lariate where should I set up – never mind, you're not here…" I said, blinking dumbly at the teacher-less room. Looking up I realized the light wasn't even on. "So what is that light I saw…?" I asked the air, it currently being my only companion. My eyes snapped to a silhouette behind a curtain-concealed cupboard.

My insane side battle with my hesitation.

_It's rude to snoop! You shouldn't even be in here! It's against school rules for you to be alone!_

_But it's so cool-looking! The insane side retorted. Come on it's not like it's uranium, and I won't even touch it..._

_The hesitation bristled. No you moron what if it has radiation! You could be dying right now and not know it!_

That made my inner turmoil grind to a halt.

It was always the table-turner, whether or not I would die. Insane-me was fuming, mad at my inner scaredy-cat for bringing out its trump card. But then a third voice of reason entered my mind, one I had not heard for a week or so. Doubt.

_What if it's not radiated at all? It whispered, causing me to just stare at the glowing silhouette. What if, it's just a simple glowing rock for the eye's pleasure?_ I chewed my bottom lip, though I already knew what I was going to do.

_W-Wait…!_ My hesitation weakly protested, but doubt would not have it.

_Besides, all irradiated objects must be kept in a sealed metal containment unit right? There's no way Lariate would just leave it out on a cupboard shelf if it could contaminate and kill the entire school._ My hesitation gave up, giving way to my rebellious curiosity. I eagerly closed the distance between me and the shelf, crouching down and sliding the curtain aside.

I gasped, my jaw going slack and my eyes softening like only the sight natural beauty could make me. The crystallized stone was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. Colors seemed to erupt from its clear, liquid depths as I drew close. I watched as the colors shifted inside of the crystal, like a living, breathing entity. Never stopping for a moment, slowing, quickening, dancing, twisting, the colors were just...there. My mind seemed to freeze at the impossibility before me, completely entranced by all the colors I had never even thought possible, existing and...and moving right inside a crystal! I subconsciously squinted as I thought I saw a flicker through the colors, a brief flash of white. And then, as if this all wasn't impossible enough for my boggled-brain, the colors and lights started shifting into a semi-recognizable shape.

"W-What…? A...Huh?" I said dumbly, watching the colors form a sort of flame-shaped head, and a small wispy body of color. Then, two white entities that served as eyes blinked at me.

I broke into an awed grin. "Whoa."

The little colored wisp tilted its head to the side, as if listening to something or someone. Then it put a tendril of swirling color that could only be its arm, against the crystal surface supposedly holding it captive. I tentatively reached out with a digit, my finger touching the surprisingly warm surface. I think it smiled at me, and nodded for some reason. On later reflection I would realize I had felt a presence in the doorway the entire time, before everything was swallowed in black.

* * *

My eyes snapped open and I sat up with a gasp, not recognizing my surroundings. I smelled the salt of the ocean and I could hear the waves crashing against the rocks somewhere behind me. I looked at my hands and realized they were shaking, from fear or adrenaline I didn't know. I clenched my teeth and bit down on my lower lip, successfully calming myself down somewhat. With my mind slightly clearer I saw there was a white, plushie rabbit in front of me. I blinked slowly as it stood there, just looking at me. My brows furrowed slightly as I slowly reached out with a hand. _Is that thing...breathing?_

"No don't do that it'll tickle me!" It giggled – actually giggled!

I shrieked and recoiled, sending a few pebbles skittering down the white-washed cliffs far below me. My eyes snapped down towards the drop behind me, growing to the size of dinner plates. I shrieked again, bolting to my feet and running to the trees past the weird rabbit at an impressive speed.

"Whoa! Wait up, I've gotta talk to you~!" The, now officially, creepy rabbit sang in a childlike voice, hopping over to me as I collapsed against a tree, breathing heavily. I looked at it with fear-filled eyes.

"What the heck are you!? Plushies don't talk! Where am I?!"

The chibi rabbit huffed and pouted, crossing its stubby little white arms. "Ru-ude! Don't you know it's polite Japapanese custom to introduce yourself first? Were you raised in a barn!"

I blinked and slid down the trunk, officially no longer weirded out by the chibi bunny. _It actually looks sort of cute...And squishy...No! Shut up! So not the time!_ I crouched down as far as I could to try to look the chibi in its cute little beady eyes.

"Did you mean to say 'Japanese'?" I queried.

"That's what I said! Japapanese!"

I sweat dropped, now just slightly amused by the chibi bunny. _That's adorable._ "Um...Anyways I'm sorry if I was rude, I was startled. My name is-"

"I know who you are! You're Eve Daniels~ My Boss!" It chirped, twirling in a circle with its big, soft...floppy ears… "Hey! Boss! Wha-My ears what are you doing?!"

My eyes snapped open as I blushed and released the little guy from my hug. "S-Sorry. Anyways...What do you mean I'm your boss? And you still haven't said where the heck we are, or what the heck you are."

The chibi hopped off my lap and spun around with a dramatic flourish, pointing a finger in the air with one of his 'hands' on his hip. "I was getting to that! Anyways, I'm your Upgrade, and-"

"Upgrade? What's an Upgrade?" I asked, tilting my head to the side, curious.

A tick mark appeared on the chibi's head and it bopped me hard on the head, leaving a throbbing bump that I cradled. "Stop interrupting me! Now, listen." It huffed, crossing its stubby, fat arms in annoyance.

It started pacing back and forth, ears flopping against its back. "As an Upgrade it is my job to make sure you don't die while you're here because you're a frail human. As you beat baddies in this world you'll gain experience that'll 'Upgrade' your abilities! **Do not even think about it**."

It said, glaring at my slightly open mouth, poised to ask why it's a rabbit. I shrugged sheepishly, no longer cradling my bump, as it had faded.

"As I was saying," it continued, "you'll have abilities as you gain experience which I will channel into you from those lovely inlets on your wrists, ankles, and etcetera."

My eyes widened. "Wait inlets? I don't-" I quickly looked at my wrists, twisting them so my palms faced upwards. My face drained of color as I stared in shock at the pair of four neon circles in perfect symmetry with each other at the base of my hands. They looked like softly glowing, neon yellow and green holes. I flipped my hands over to spot two more once again, at the base of my hands in perfect symmetry with the other pair on my other hand.

"Two for each side, four for each hand, and one in the palm and on the back of the hand~!" The chibi giggled at my shocked face.

With shaking hands, I pulled up the cuff of my jeans and tugged down my sock. "...Y-You put holes in my body…" I choked out, obviously distressed as I looked at the similar holes in my ankle.

The chibi bunny nodded in confirmation, smiling. "Yep! And there's even some on the base of your neck, and on your sternum~!" I slid my sock back up, and tugged my jeans' cuff back down. I dug my short nails into my hands, keeping my temper in check as I sighed loudly. We were silent for a moment as I thought I heard a cannon in the distance.

"...So where are we?" I said at last.

The chibi bunny perked up, smiling still. "We're in 'One Piece!"

Now that got my attention. I sat up straighter, forgetting about my new piercings. "Like the Japanese Anime and Manga?"

The chibi bunny nodded again. "Yep! And right now we're in the Orange town arc!" I quickly racked my brain for a moment. So that explains why everything looks...Two dimensional...And that didn't sound like a Buggy Ball.

"So...That cannon was Buggy's subordinate dying?" I asked, a hand on my chin, mildly disturbed about my lack of emotion to the fact somebody just died.

The chibi bunny flopped into a sitting position, trying to copy me. "Yes, yes Boss! That's Buggy alright!"

I nodded my thanks at the information as I took it in, trying not to be overwhelmed by the fact I am now inside my favorite Anime and Manga. "Please tell me more about my... Soon-to-be abilities."

"Sure thing Boss!" He said, hopping to his feet. _I assume he's a 'he'...How do plushies differentiate genders?!_ I immediately started regretting the names I gave my plushies as a child, before giving the bunny my attention.

"Now, as I said, when you beat enemies in this world you'll gain experience. I can then store and turn your experience into upgrades to your physical attributes so you can get stronger. In your backpack there should be a brochure!"

I blinked. _Backpack…?_ I realized my backpack was on my back. I pulled it off my shoulders and unzipped it. I ruffled around a bit and pulled out a metallic-looking brochure.

I started reading aloud;

"Congratulations on receiving your very own 'Upgrade'! Upon entering the realm selected, your 'Upgrade' will happily inform you of the starting equipment available for your survival."

I looked at the pictures. Next to a glowing white button, there was a circle with a pair of white, futuristic looking gloves. The caption read, "Bunny Boxers! For all your hand-to-hand combat needs!" Underneath the picture was another button and a picture of long white boots. The caption read, "Bunny Boots, run like the wind or jump to great heights! The boots of every bunny's dreams!" I sweat dropped. _I don't even like bunnies this much...What the heck…_ I then realized chibi-chan was talking again.

"After you choose which ability you want to start with, they will eventually start changing color according to the level they are upgraded. Beginner is white, since white is the absence of all color. The next level of course, is red, and so on and so forth." I nodded slowly, understanding it more or less. _Though I highly doubt I'll remember any of this._ I thought bitterly.

I cringed as an explosion reverberated through the ground and assaulted my ears. "That sounded like a Buggy ball, how far away are we from Orange Town?" I asked, having long since resolved to breakdown into hysterics later, right now I wanted to do something I've only dreamt of.

Chibi-chan tilted his head, as if calculating something. "Two kilometers." He said at last.

I nodded, looking down at the brochure in my hands, thoughts buzzing throughout my head. I pressed the button next to the white gloves. The inlets at my wrists started to glow and I watched as the gloves appeared at first in a wave of pixels, then rendered themselves into focus. The picture didn't do them justice. They looked like slick white fiberglass on the outside, resembling a hard exoskeleton shell that morphed smoothly over the joints of my fingers and thumb. The insides felt a bit like rubber, but fit perfectly. The tips of the gloves were pointed and hardened slightly, while the knuckle area was thicker.

After I put the brochure back I listened as chibi-chan explained their current durability. "Since they've not been upgraded yet, and are in their first level, their durability is about the same as Sea King Skin leather. You can catch swords without tearing them, but that's about it."

I grinned, thinking of the possibilities quite literally at my fingertips. For what I had in mind, they were perfect. I looked down at chibi-chan, "I need to get to Orange Town, fast. Is there like a...Temporary trial upgrade or something I could use?"

Chibi-chan nodded. "Yes Boss! Each pla-um, person with an 'Upgrade' gets a sixty-second mega-upgrade to use as they wish." As he said that, I smiled excitedly, shouldering my backpack.

"Good, then take me to the roof of the Orange Town bar as fast as you can!" I swear I saw a glint of mischievousness in his eyes. I inwardly sweat dropped. _Welcome to the randomness capital of the worlds, Eve._

* * *

***This was beautifully beta-read by my good friend, Katharonie! (chan) (san) (reader-san-sempai-sama-kun) ...(hahahaaha)**

**Please R+R And enjoy~!**


	2. Chapter 2: Yet even more piercings!

**Hah Oh writing this story is going to be fun, I hope you'll all enjoy it as well. Without further ado, here is the second chapter!**

**Special thanks to Anonymus Cookie (guest) For my first review! Here's a cookie :D (::)**

**Thanks to my first followers, Pternophobia, and xForeverGamerx! You also get cookies! :D (::)**

**~CallmeEevee**

**Bold: Bunny-Chan's thoughts**

_Italic: Thoughts_

* * *

**(Eve's P.O.V.)**

I vaguely remember trying to scream as I clung desperately to the back of the now gorilla-sized Upgrade, the wind stealing away any breath to scream. I screwed my eyes shut as the trees and countryside disappeared behind us. I felt the Upgrade tense beneath me, before feeling a brief moment of weightlessness. Snapping my eyes open for a split second I felt tears spring to my eyes before the wind took those too...Jerk. We were jumping from building to building, my legs swinging limply in shock. _I'm going to die! The bunny lied! Never trust a bunny!_ I proceeded to curse furiously. The Upgrade only chuckled as he calmly pushed off from another rooftop. "You're not gonna die, silly! I've got ya!~" He sang, his voice a baritone because of his temporarily increased size. He turned his head first left, and then right, while still jumping from roof to roof.

"Now where is that silly bar...Really, I don't even know why you wanna go there, you're underage after all. And it's usually full of stinky men...Ah there it is!" He said, gathering on his haunches, before launching us into the air and landing behind a stack of crates on the roof. Shrinking back down to his chibi size, we poked our heads around the edge of the crates. Zoro had just saved Nami from her "crew members". I silently heaved a sigh of relief, I wasn't late for once in my life. _Thank God...I might actually do something useful to put on my resumé before they put me in the mental hospital. Now to focus on not getting myself killed before I can get home…_ I mused, returning my attention to the scene before me. My eyes widened a fraction when they landed on a smirking Buggy.

"I don't remember him being so…not dorky…" I said, mostly to myself as I observed his somewhat dark appearance. He was saying something audible, but for some reason I couldn't understand what he was saying. "Bunny-chan...Why can't I understand what he's saying?" I asked, looking down at him, sweat-dropping as I realized he was hiding behind my legs. _Coward, he's worse than me! And I'm afraid of heights! _I vaguely heard him murmuring something about "scary clowns" before he snapped out of it, meeting my eyes with a sheepish grin.

"Oh yeah~! I forgot to mention that I haven't turned on the translator yet! One Piece is Japapanese after all!" I hissed at him to be quiet, thinking for a moment. _So he's speaking Japanese? Does that mean they won't be able to understand me? Oh crud! Now how am I gonna-_ "Ack!" I yelped, smacking my hands over my mouth and ducking back behind the crates as fast as possible.

I pulled whatever shocked me so badly off my neck only to start throttling it. "What the heck was that for you moron?!" I hissed angrily, pissed off. That is, until I realized I could understand what Buggy was saying. I looked down at the winded bunny in my hands. "What did you do?" I asked him, shaking him awake.

"Blahaha please stahp…~" His face was a bit purple..._Maybe I went a little too far..._I thought, apologetically. He shook his head and hopped to his feet. "I activated your translator mode. Now you can understand Japapanese~" He sang happily, hopping around in a circle while giggling. I smacked him lightly on the head.

"Now's not the time for that! So can I speak it too?" I asked, dreading another shock. Bunny-chan sheepishly scratched at the back of his head, sweating like crazy. "Well, you see...Look! Zoro's Onigiri!" He said suddenly pointing over my shoulder. My head snapped around just as I realized my mistake.

Smoke curled off my body as I twitched on the ground, trying not to rip that _Stupid little...ugly freaking …_ I proceeded to swear in my head, grinding my teeth as I sat up. I gasped as I heard Zoro attack Buggy. Dropping my backpack next to a cowering Bunny-chan, I activated my gloves and peeked out. Zoro had just sheathed his swords, turning around to inspect Luffy's cage.

"Huh? That guy's so weak!" Luffy said, surprised as Nami. A grim frown was on my face as I saw Buggy float up. I grit my teeth, determination coursing throughout my body. _It's now or never, I can't miss this catch! _My legs tensed, before I jumped over the crates.

The knife rose, and stabbed at Zoro's back. My hands closed around the blade, arms tense, not budging against the persistent hand. "I don't like cowards." I said quietly, head turning to glare at a surprised Buggy and his crew.

"Who the heck?"

"Whoa!"

"How is she not bleeding?!" I heard, come from his crew but I ignored them in favor of glaring at Buggy instead, hands still firmly grasping the knife and hand.

"Who are you? Have you come for my head?" Buggy asked, anger written all over his face at being foiled. A part of me noticed how quiet Luffy was being. Nami was choking on air, eyes glued to the floating hand that had been inches away from stabbing Zoro. Even Zoro looked stunned as he turned around to see a random girl had just saved him.

I blinked slowly, grinning inside at my success. I smirked at Buggy. "Well aren't you an arrogant cabin boy, eh red nose?" I said, tauntingly.I don't know why but whenever I'm given the chance to annoy the crap out of someone, I usually can't help myself as I chuckle at their expressions.I heard Luffy emit a loud bark of laughter at Buggy's stunned, furious face. I heard pathetic squeaking of shock from his crew, and had to stifle a chuckle myself. Instead I straightened, a smirk on my face as I heard a familiar voice mentally beat me up for my stupidity.

_**You moron you just said you were going to try to NOT DIE! **__Wait, Bunny? Is that you? GET THE HECK OUT OF MY HEAD YOU FREAKING PERVERT! How did you even get in here?! __**Oh, well~ As your upgrade we're sort of connected, so I can materialize myself inside of your consciousness instead of having a physical body if I want to.**__ So you can hide in my head instead of facing the threat. How brave of you. _I jolted slightly as I realized Buggy had shouted something while starting to froth at the mouth.

"WHO HAS A BIG RED NOSE?!" His veins stood out on his neck as his face turned the color of a tomato. _Wow his nose really does look like a tomato! __**N-Now you've done it! We're dead…**_ _Shut up, we're not dead 'til Alvida sings. __**Who's that?**__ ..Nevermind, watch and learn, lessons on how to tick someone off: Chapter One: Insult their appearance. _

I took the hand and knife in my right hand and pointed it at him, smirking widely. "You~" I said sweetly. Luffy shot off another laugh while Nami nearly fell over. I don't know what Zoro did, because I was too focused on Buggy.

"I'LL SHOW YOU WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU INSULT THE BUGGY PIRATE CREW!" I wrestled the knife from the hand and stomped on his hand, causing him to howl in pain. Pinning it down with my foot, I turned to Zoro, the knife forgotten about on the ground.

"You might want to take your ..Er, friend there and run. I'll-" **BOSS! LOOK OUT!** I cried out in pain as the knife drove itself into my side. I'd like to say I started to mentally berate myself like: _Baka! You turned your back on the enemy! That's the first thing you learn NOT to do! _But I would be lying if I said I wasn't mentally cursing my head off as I fell to my knees, the knife wiggling and trying to lodge itself deeper into my body. I coughed up blood, blocking my screams I wanted to so badly to let out. Black tainted my vision and sounds were muffled as I focused all my energy on not passing out from the pain. Vaguely I heard Luffy shouting something and Zoro trying to tell me to stay awake. Nami was furious at Buggy, but all I heard was his cackling as my shoulders slumped and the black took over.

* * *

**(Zoro's P.O.V.) **

I stared at the blonde-haired girl in shock. _Crap, I even knew he had a Devil Fruit! I was being careless!_ Who was this girl? Where did she come from, and why wasn't she getting cut by the knife?! I watched as she taunted Buggy fearlessly, practically flaunting his own hand in his face. I felt a little respect for her grow inside me. She stomped on his hand and turned to me.

"You might want to take your ..Er, friend there and run I'll-" My eyes widened as I saw the knife protruding from her side. _Crap I forgot about his other hand!_ I grabbed her by her shoulders as she starting coughing up blood, trying to keep her upright and awake as Buggy laughed.

"Hey, can you hear me? Don't fall asleep! Hey stay awake, girl!" Her eyelids fluttered weakly as she lost consciousness. I cursed, setting her down gently as the other girl rushed over. I glared at Buggy while Luffy shouted at Buggy.

"Stabbing from the back is cowardly, Big Nose!" I turned as I saw Buggy's face contort into one of anger. "WHO ARE YOU CALLING A BIG NOSE?!" Buggy roared, launching one of his hands at Luffy.

"Luffy!" I yelled, watching the knife slip through the bars of the cage and into Luffy's face. He looked up at Buggy with the knife between his teeth and a grin of determination. I smirked, _He's insane, but he's Captain._

"I'm swear, I'm gonna take you down!" I heard him say, and I tuned out Buggy as I looked down at the girl, watching the orange-haired girl put pressure on her wound with a piece of cloth to stop the bleeding.

"There's so much blood…This is it, we're dead..." I heard her murmur.

"Stop being so dramatic, Luffy'll think of something."

"Zoro! Run away!" My head snapped to his face as I spluttered. "What?!" And then I saw his face, telling me to take the girl and the cage, and to run. I smirked, and nodded. "Okay."

I easily deflected the Bara Bara cannon attack Buggy sent my way as I ran over to the cannon, easily flipping it over to point at Buggy and his crew. "Oi!" I shouted over the crew's shrieks of panic. "I need a light!" I said, directing my words to the orange-headed girl who looked surprised.

"E-Eh? O-Okay!" She ran over, awkwardly passing me the girl before lighting the cannon.

The cannon fired, and before the smoke could clear I slung the unconscious girl onto one of my shoulders, looking at the orange-haired girl. "This is a good time to escape, who are you anyways?"

"I-I'm a thief…" She stuttered.

I turned to Luffy as he said, "That kid...is our navigator."

I sighed, feeling a pang of sympathy for her. I watched as she yelled at him, saying how he's an idiot and should work on getting out of the cage. "No, it's okay. You just stay in the cage!" I said, hoisting the cage onto my other shoulder with a grunt. _Man, I'm out of shape, this shouldn't be this hard. I need to train more. _I thought, grimly.

* * *

**(Still Zoro)**

I slammed the cage down on a random roof a few blocks away. I stared at the still unconscious girl, oddly enough she seemed to stop bleeding but I was still worried about her. "We're being in a dangerous situation here..! But what's been started must be finished I suppose." I ignored Luffy as he struggled with the cage, taking off my bandana and using it to bandage the girl's wound. I sighed and hoisted her up on my shoulder again, along with the cage.

"We'd better keep moving."

* * *

**(Eve's P.O.V.)**

Everything hurt. That was the first thing I realized as I came to. The second thing I realized was, someone had bandaged me. **Boss! Are you okay?!** I cringed at the loud voice in my head and groaned softly. _Shut up...My head hurts dang it. Where are we? _**We're in the mayor's house! You're in his guest room. Zoro brought you and Luffy here after you got really hurt! I was worried~. **He whined. I sighed, feeling slightly sorry for worrying him. _Sorry. Where are they now?_ **Just outside, talking to a guy with funky hair and a lion, Oops-** My eyes shot open as the ceiling caved in I rolled off the bed and under it in an agonizing roll.

"Ow…" I whimpered, feeling my side ache. _Though it should hurt more...Right? I just got stabbed! _**Oh um, I sorta used some spare experience I found lying around to stop your bleeding and most of the pain…** _Wait, where did you get the experience? All I did was stop a knife. _**I used the wound experience! **I heard people shouting outside, and heard rubble moving. _We'll continue this conversation later, Bun-chan. _

"Oi! Girl! Are you alright?! Can you hear me?!" I heard Zoro call. I sighed, bracing myself for the pain as I rolled myself out from under the bed and shoved some rubble out of the way until I could breathe again.

"More or less!" I called, wincing from the pain as the dust settled, revealing Zoro a few feet away from me. A flash of relief showed on his face, before he starting pulling rubble away to get to me. "I've woken up under better circumstances, admittedly." Zoro didn't grin at my joke as he checked me over for new wounds. Seeing none, he looked at me strangely. I blinked back at him, plaster in both of our hair and dirt on our clothes. "What?" I asked, getting impatient for him to say something. He crossed his arms over his chest.

"Your arteries were stabbed, you were bleeding badly but then suddenly it stopped. How did you do it?" He asked, a suspicious light in his eyes. I frowned, _Looks like Bunny-chan really wasn't kidding...I didn't think I'd faint from such a little wound. This might be a problem in the future. _

"I didn't do anything, I guess my blood is just thick." I smirked, not lying because Bunny-chan was the one to apparently stop my bleeding. Zoro merely grunted, before suddenly picking me up in a bridal carry. I winced as fresh pain flared in my side and pulled on Zoro's cheek, stretching the skin. "Oi, please put me down I can walk." I said, releasing his face. Zoro ignored me and walked out of the rubble to a poodle-mayor, Nami, an empty cage...And a giant lion with a furry on it. _Daaaaaaaaaaaaannngg that's one big kitty._ "Zoro put me down, I'm not asking!" I said, sticking my tongue out, before wriggling out of Zoro's arms with a grunt.

"So what's with the furry?" I asked, looking at Mohji. Don't get me wrong, I've got nothing against furries, I'm pretty sure most of my friends are furries. But dang I hate that guy. First he pretty much scars Shushu for life, and then he has the **audacity** to ask Luffy for mercy? Nuh-uh, not happening. _I'm gonna get a few hits in on this guy even if it kills me. Maybe I'll teach his kitty some manners too._

Mohji paid me no mind, eyes trained on Zoro, who stared back emotionlessly. "Roronoa Zoro! I have found you! When I kill you Buggy will reward me greatly. Kill him Richie!" I got out of Zoro's way, quickly spotting the pet food store, thankfully still in one piece. Spotting Shushu safe and sound, I stood by him and watched Zoro pull out his swords and easily take down Richie. He was about to attack Mohji, but I sprinted forward and grabbed Mohji by his shirt, giving him my best glare. He started sweating and blabbering about "mercy" and all that crap. He didn't get up after I clocked him and sent him to kiss the ground. I shook my hand to relieve the slight pain that came from punching his sad excuse for a face.

Zoro was smirking at my handiwork. "That's some punch, he didn't stand a chance once his lion was taken out."

I hummed in agreement. "Yep, now let's go find your friend, yeah?" I said, turning to him, only to see Luffy, Nami, and Boodle coming up behind him.

Nami and Boodle were speechless while Luffy was grinning at me. "Hey girl! Join my crew!" He demanded.

I shook my head, sticking my tongue out at him. "Nope! Don't wanna!"

Zoro laughed at me. "Good luck with that, he doesn't take 'no' for an answer." I shrugged, looking towards the direction of the bar. _Now to-_ Zoro pulled me to the ground as the entire row of houses next to use exploded. I was shaking, even though I tried to hide it. _O..Oh my kami...T-That...Was … AWESOME! _I smiled breathlessly, thanking Zoro as he helped me up. I turned to the group, grinning madly. "Well this is going to be..._Fun_."


	3. Poodles, Cannons, and Clowns Oh My!

**I only own my OC's! No one else!~**

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**Have a Happy New Year Everyone! I can't believe how quickly I'm just typing these up! Two chapters in one day? MADNESS!**

* * *

**(Eve's P.O.V.)**

I watched as Boodle-Poodle guy looked like he was having a conniption. I don't remember what he's doing, so I listen as he rants. "It's just so miserable! So miserable! Shushu and you youngsters are fighting like this…! But why is it that I, being the village chief, can only watch our village being trampled?!" Nami looked worried as she tried to calm him down. "Wait chief, calm down!" Boodle-Poodle-san turned to Luffy, various veins bulging as he continued to shout. "To a real man, there are some fights that cannot be avoided! Isn't that right kid?!" Luffy just nodded with his usual smile and said, "That's right mister!" Nami yelled at Luffy for encouraging him, and I stifled a chuckle. Boodly-Poodly-Doodly-Doo then recounted his back story. I listened quietly, listening to everything this town has been through. "This village and the villagers are my treasure!" He declared, raising his spear in the air. "What kind of chief doesn't protect his own village?! I'm going to fight!"_Geez...Wish I had that kind of resolve...Man, Boodle-Poodle-Doodle-Strudel-Dude is pretty cool for an old man. _I smiled, remembering my Oyaji, my family. And then I stopped. I will die if I'm distracted, I made that mistake once and the cost was only mine. But what if it happens again? No, if I get distracted someone else may suffer because of it and I will **not** let that happen under **any** circumstances. **INCOMING!** _Oh yea-_ "Get down!" I shouted, pushing Zoro away from the wall he was leaning on, just before another Buggy Ball obliterated the entire row of houses, making us roll a few feet.

"Oof..Gah..Not..Feeling the love.." I winced, feeling my bandages stain again. After everyone said they were unharmed, Poodle-san started clawing at his chest with a hand. "...! It fells as if my chest is being scraped out…!" I frowned, my eyes softening in understanding as I stared at him. Nami tried to intervene to calm him down again. "Chief-"

"Do you think I'll allow pirates to trample all over us again?!" I saw Zoro looking at my bandages from the corner of his eyes, but he quickly turned away when I looked at him. I resisted to cough, because I knew only blood would come up. "For a 'horse-skeleton-like guy' who suddenly pops out…! He has absolutely no right to trample all over our forty years!" Boodle took a determined pose with his arms spread wide, his spear in the air. "I am the chief! I won't leave and let the village be treated this way!" He started to run off, but Nami caught his hand. "ALright! I'm going to go fight!" Nami looked to be on the verge of panicking, she obviously didn't want this mayor to die. _Neither do I, for that matter. But I remember Luffy stops him just before Buggy can kill him. __**You're captain's crazy. **__Haha, you're just now realizing that? He's crazy ambitious, and that's a good thing. _

"W-Wait a minute chief!" Nami cried desperately, trying to hold him back.

"Let go of me kid!"

"Those people are dangerous! So what's the point in going?! This is too reckless!"  
Boodle turned to her, tears in his eyes, but he refused to let them fall as he replied angrily.  
"I KNOW IT'S RECKLESS!" I smiled, feeling the urge to clap, but resisting. _I like this guy_, I decided. "The Chief..! Was crying!" Nami said, stunned. Luffy smiled, looking at Boodle as he ran down the road. "Really? I didn't see anything," He said. Zoro grinned, looking at Luffy. "For some reason this is starting to feel more fun." Luffy laughed and agreed. I chuckled, but immediately regretted it as some blood slipped past my lips.

I tried to hide it before anyone noticed, but I was too late. I sighed, coughing I slumped to the ground, a bitter smile on my face.

"Looks like I'm out. Sorry, I didn't do much to he-" I broke into a bloody coughing fit, my hand trying to stop the blood. Luffy walked over to me, his face uncharacteristically serious. "Hey girl, what's your name?" I looked up at him, offering my left hand, since the right was covered in blood. "Eve Daniels, at your service. You?" He grinned, eyes shadowed by his hat. "Monkey D. Luffy, the next Pirate King!" He said, grasping my hand with a firm shake. "Nice to meet ya," I grinned. "Hey Luffy-san, do me a favor?" He tilted his head, waiting for me to say what it was. I grinned despite the burning pain in my throat. "Don't let the old man die, and give that clown hell."

Luffy smiled widely at me, tugging down his hat with a nod. "You can count on it! Come on Zoro, Nami, let's take down Buggy the clown!" He started to race down the road only to be stopped by Nami.

"Wait Luffy, just to be clear, we're just cooperating. I'm just going for the treasure and the map, whether you guys fight or not, it's not my problem." Luffy nodded, running again with Zoro and Nami behind. I waited until I couldn't see them anymore, before I keeled over and my head slammed into the dust. **Aah! You pushed yourself too hard Boss! **_Aw...I really wanted to see Buggy get his butt kicked… _**No way! You undid all my hard work! Good thing you got some experience from clocking Mohji, otherwise we'd be in serious trouble! **My head was starting to pound from lack of blood, and my throat was burning. Suddenly, tendrils of white curled out of the inlets in my body and did a U-turn back towards my skin. Right before they touched a thin-looking _shield? Forcefield? What the heck is covering my body and why is it invisible?! _**Think of it as an electrical exoskeleton...Without the sturdiness of a skeleton..and It's basically just a thin film of electric currents that connects every part of your body, which is how I'm able to heal you.** I watched as the pulsing white lights disappeared inside the light blue shield. _What else can it do?_ I asked, smiling as I felt energy return to my body and the burning in my throat fade. **Oh you'll find out with time~** _Don't be coy with me, do I need to pull rank?!_

…_**.**_

…_._

_Get your furry butt out here._

I sat up as bunny-chan suddenly appeared before me. He grinned at me and bounced around me. "You need a name." I said suddenly. He pouted, a tuft of hair drooping into his face as he flopped onto his butt. "But I have a name~" He whined, I shook my head, putting a finger to my forehead in concentration. "No no no, it's too long! Your new name is...Puuya!" He slowly nodded, silently trying it out before a smile broke his face. "I like master's new name for me! It sounds tough! And brave!~" I chuckled and patted his head, suddenly I stiffened. "Where is...My back..pack?" Both of us paled. It was on the roof of the bar…Behind the crates...Where Buggy was… Puuya started running around screaming "We're gonna diieeeee~" I just facepalmed, hard. _I KNEW I was forgetting something! But why did it have to be my backpack of all things?! _I sighed, running my fingers through my long hair that reached mid-back. "No crying over spilt milk I suppose." I suddenly slammed my fist into my palm, coming to a decision. "Right, well. Let's go and get it then!" Puuya screeched to a halt, his jaw dropping and tears started running down his face. "WHAT?! ARE YOU CRAZY?! You're still injured and you barely survived last time!" I shrugged. "I have to get it back somehow, besides it has my iPhone in it, I'll need that." I shakily got up to my feet and trudged onwards, my hands in my pockets as I ignored Puuya tugging and pulling at my pant legs, crying and screaming at me to stop or I'll get killed.

* * *

I walked past Cabaji on the ground and a sleeping Zoro, only to see Buggy fly at Nami. I wanted to run forward only to remember my stab wound that hadn't been able to heal. "Crud..!" I then went speechless as Luffy kicked Buggy's "Family jewels", causing him to halt in mid-air with tears streaming down his face. I burst out laughing, not caring that my wound was aching with each laugh. "HAHAHAHAH ahaha AHHA AHAHA A! That was priceless!" I wiped a tear from my eye and got to my feet, Puuya hiding inside me. Which, by the way, felt really...weird. It's like having a bluetooth ear-piece...In your head. I sighed happily, scanning the wreckage of the bar as I walked past Luffy, giving him a thumbs-up. I shoved a few broken pieces of wood to the side here, kicked a few boards there, but I wasn't finding it. _Puuya can you locate my backpack? _

**Um...Hang on let me materialize. **_I'll hide you from view as best I can. _**Why?** _Because...Um..Look just roll with it, okay? I don't need to explain myself to you! _**G-RUMP-Y!**

I sighed, wincing at the pain once again as I walked awkwardly over to Luffy. "Nice job, you got him good." I grinned, patting his shoulder. He smiled at me, before telling Nami to drop the treasure and hide. Which she blatantly refused to. I got out of the way again, sifting through the wreckage some more, ignoring whatever the heck happens next because I know Buggy was an easy take-down for Luffy.

* * *

Five minutes later, there was clown parts on the ground, a grinning Luffy, a happy Nami, and a backpack-less me. _Where the heck could it be?! I didn't count on the bar being demolished by Luffy…_ I sighed sadly. **I FOUND IT!** My head snapped up, and I jumped to my feet from where I was resting on a piece of the wall. _Where?!_ **I've got it! I'm behind the third house on the left! **_Be right there Puuya! _Grinning madly, I ran to the designated spot, ignoring Luffy's surprised calls. Grabbing my backpack and giving Puuya a thank-you squeeze, I slipped my arms through the straps and sighed. _Finally something that feels normal…_ Puuya disappeared into an inlet and I walked back out to the others just as the villagers started showing up. Quickly, I walked over to Zoro and woke him up. "Oi, I think you guys'll be leaving soon." He nodded and grunted a thanks, getting to his feet and walking over to Luffy and Nami.

I watched as Luffy enraged the villagers on accident, and the villagers completely ignored me. I huffed a sigh. _I'm not _that_ inconspicuous am I?_ "Come on guys! Let's go!" I watched as they ran away, waving with a hand. Suddenly Zoro scooped me up, grinning. "W-Whoa! DUDE! Not cool! Put me down! Oi! LISTEN TO ME DANG IT! I AM YELLING AT YOU!" He just laughed and said, "Captain's orders."

I tried to get out of his grip like before, but he was having none of it, his grip was like steel. I huffed and gave in, royally pissed off. Luffy was laughing his head off at my reaction. "Don't let her go Zoro! She's joining my crew!" "Aye Captain!" Nami just shook her head sympathetically at me. Zoro jumped onto the boat, still not letting me go. "Come on put me down!" I demanded, wincing as my wound throbbed. "Stop struggling or your wounds will reopen!" He barked at me, concern lacing his voice. I sighed in defeat. _Fiiinnnneeeee….I just don't like being man-handled! Ah..And I thought I'd actually be one of the few people to tell Luffy "no". Guess not. _I watched as Boodle-Poodle-San came and said goodbye and thanks, even though he shot Zoro an odd look.

Suddenly, I got an idea. _Hey Puuya, can I swim? _** No~ You can't, in exchange for an Upgrade, you have to give up your ability to swim~ **I mentally sweat-dropped. _Well there goes that plan, guess I really do have no choice. _**Why are you so against joining the strawhats?**

_I'm not, I just like giving stubborn people a hard time, it's like a contest to see who can be more stubborn. I almost lost there, for a second. I have one more trump card. _**Haha Baka!~** _Oi, meanie, hush. _I had more or less gotten used to the fact that Puuya was now in my head, I mean, he was more or less like a digimon...That didn't do anything but heal so far. "O-kay! Zoro you can put her down now~ Hehehehehe!" Luffy laughed, once we had moved a ways away from the docks. Zoro sat me down and easily dodged the kick to the shin I had aimed at him. "Jerks! Geez I hate being man-handled! It's degrading.." I grumbled, sitting in a corner of the boat that I now claimed as my own. Luffy just smiled cheekily at me. "Join my crew Eve!" I smiled wryly at him, resting my chin on my propped up elbow on the side of the ship. "N-O." I spelled out for him cockily. Luffy grinned, challenge accepted. I suddenly had a bad feeling about the smile on his face, and the monster-like grin on Zoro's. I sweat-dropped.

"OKAY! OKAY FINE YOU WIN HAHAHAH VERY FUNNY NOW PUT ME BACK IN THE BOAT!" I screamed, dangling like fish bait from a pole they had tied me to. Zoro and Luffy grinned at me. "Will you join my crew now?" "YES JUST PUT ME BACK IN THE DARN BOAT...Captain." They laughed, untying me and putting me back in the boat before any sharks could get me. **You lost~** _Shut up! _I heaved a sigh of relief and glared at Nami when I heard her laugh. "You do know you're next, right?" She stopped laughing. I sat back down again with a sigh, and Zoro fell asleep. Luffy was fingering the holes in his hat sadly. Nami noticed him and sewed it back up. Needless to say, Luffy was ecstatic. I smiled at her, a mischievous grin on my face that made her shiver. "You just sealed your fate~" I said sweetly. Luffy shouted to the sky, "It's fixed!"

Nami looked at him while putting away her sewing kit. "I just mended the cuts. I think that should do it, try not to poke it to much." I chuckled to see Luffy poking it like crazy as he said, "Right! Right! Thanks! You did a great job in fixing this hat!" _Three...Two...One~_ "Uh oh!" Nami grew shark teeth and roared at him. "Didn't you listen to what I just said?!" She was poking him in the head with her needle while he was screaming. "Stop poking me with that needle it hurts!"

"It's useless if I hit you so I have to use the needle!" She roared back, fuming. He suddenly stopped freaking out. "Ah! That makes sense." Zoro woke up, grumbling. "You guys are too noisy! I can't sleep with all this noise." Luffy ignored him and said, "Hey I'm hungry." My stomach roared ferociously and my face turned red as everyone's eyes turned to me. Luffy laughed, "Haha Eve's stomach is hungry too!" Nami shared some food with us and I muttered an embarrassed "arigatou." After eating a loaf of bread, I realized how exhausted I was as my eyelids slammed shut. I heard worried voices as I slipped into yet another dreamless sleep...Or so I thought.

* * *

**Hey Boss!~** I "opened" my eyes to see Puuya standing in front of me, on a cloud? _Am I asleep? _**Yep! I'm in your dream~** _But I don't usually dream?_ **I know! I basically gave you this dream as a thank-you for not dying!~ Aren't I sweet? **I just laughed and ruffled the tuft of hair on his head. _Sure. Oh! That reminds me, when I first got stabbed, you said you used "wound experience" to heal me. What is that?_ **Oh! Wound experience is the experience gained from saving someone else from a wound they would have gained. The same experience is gained as if you were the person inflicting the wound, and gathering experience that way. **I sweat-dropped. _That's too confusing. _Puuya huffed, and tried again. **Say you beat someone, you gain a certain amount of experience right? Well, when you save someone from being attacked you gain half of the experience you would have earned if you had beaten the attacker. You got it? **I nodded slowly, letting it sink it. _Yeah thanks. So is there like, a meter or gauge that I can see how much experience I have, or how much experience a person will give me? _**Geez needy much? **I blinked down at Puuya.

…

…

**Okay so yes, I have a gauge you can use to see how much you have, but no I can't show you how much you earn for defeating people. You're just not at a high enough level yet. Sorry!~**

_Thanks anyways. _I watched as a little screen materialized on my right glove's wrist. _Cool, like, seriously this is pretty darn cool. _I said, smiling. I had fifty experience points, and I saw a button on the screen I could press, so I did. _Upgrade store?_ **It's where you can upgrade your current abilities! Right now, you only have access to the Bunny Boxers~ **I nodded, understanding. Scrolling through the upgrade choices, I realized only two were unlocked. I read the point costs, and saw they caused twenty and thirty. I smirked, _perfect_. Purchasing both upgrades, I watched as the gloves turned from white, to red, and to a light shade of orange. My gloves grew to my elbows, at a point, offering more protection. _Sweet...Imagine the moves I could do with the elbow...I wonder what else I can do now?_ **Um...Eve-Boss?** Puuya said, tugging on my jeans' leg. I looked away from my hands, the gloves disappearing. _Yeah? What's up?_ I noticed his nervous expression and frowned, getting a bad feeling. **Um...You know how I said the gloves are sort of a part of you..?** I nodded slowly...**Um..Well Your hair..it..it's orange.**


	4. Chapter 4: Traveling to Veggieville!

**Disclaimer- I do not own One Piece, Eiichiro Oda does.**

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**Anyways, I thought this chapter was a little bit slower due to the lack of action, but we get to see a little bit into Eve's background!**

**Happy Reading, and reviews are loved!**

**~CallmeEevee**

* * *

**(Eve's P.O.V.)**

I bolted upright, awake instantly as I leaned over the side of the boat, surprising everyone at my spontaneity. True enough, I looked at my reflection and my long hair had turned a shade similar to Nami's startling orange hair. "Wha-Really?! My hair, the only thing I liked about my appearance, had changed. I groaned and slumped in my seat, momentarily depressed. Luffy was ogling at my hair, eyes shining as he exclaimed, "Sugoi!" A cloud of depression hung over me while Zoro just stared at me. Nami was pointing at me accusatorially , her mouth moving but no words coming out until she coughed and tried again. "H-How the heck did your hair change color?! You were asleep the entire time we were on that weird island!"

I swatted the cloud away, bored of being depressed because I really didn't care, so long as my hair wasn't cut short. _Then I would never be able to wear a fedora…_ I shivered at the thought. I love my fedoras...That are back home...in my worl-_NOPE Not thinking about that place right now!_ I shrugged, in answer to Nami's question. "Dunno, maybe my hair liked your color so much it copied it." I said, sarcastically. I tend to get sarcastic when I'm stressed out. Luffy grinned and took off his strawhat, pointing enthusiastically at his head. "Really?! Do me next! Do my hair!" I face-palmed, hard. Nami just hit him on the head, while Zoro didn't do anything.

I thought about what had happened to us so far, trying to not let my new hair color bother me. _So, we beat Buggy...And after that must come...Treasure-chest-guy..and then...Um...Oh! Right! Usopp! I wonder if I could break Jango's chakram...Hahahaha!_ A smile split my face at the thought, imagining his shocked expression as I caught them easily, chest puffed out proudly. I swatted the thought cloud away, crossing my arms. _I shouldn't underestimate Jango...Although, before Jango I think I might have to deal with the..Uh what was it...Gosh dang my MEMORY…! Oh! The Nyaban brothers, Fatty and Twiggy! _I didn't really care about their names, since I only remembered one and it'd be weird if I didn't know both of them.

_If I remember correctly-_**Which I doubt you do. **_Shut up I was talking! Er..Thinking. Anyways, If I remember right, they would act like they were weak and then Twiggy-Mc-Cinnamon-Stilts would steal two of Zoro's swords.. Hmm. _I played with my thumbnail, thinking how I would be able to get Zoro's swords back to him. **You could fight with him against them!** Puuya suggested. I mentally shook my head, _No his pride is too strong for that. Remember, he would think he'd be fighting weaklings. _I frowned, a thoughtful look on my face.

Luffy interrupted my thoughts as I realized his face was almost touching mine. "Whoa! Dude! SPACE!" I kicked him in the stomach as he laughed. "Haha! Eve play with me~" He whined. I sighed, _I'll worry about it later I guess._ "What do you want to play?" I asked, surprising both Zoro and Nami. I really shouldn't have asked that, because his face was turning red from thinking too hard. "Oi-Oi! Don't explode. How about, um...I-Spy?" Luffy's face broke out in a grin as he nodded, plopping himself down next to me. "Yosh! Me first! I spy something...Green!" Nami stifled a chuckle. I mentally face-palmed. _Of course he'd be bad at this._ I decided to humor him and play along.

"Is it...The water?"

"Nope!"

"Is it...The grass stuck on your sandals?"

"Nope! Hehe!"

I pretended to think really hard, purposefully looking anywhere besides at Zoro, who was watching from the corner of his eye.

"Give up yet?" Luffy teased me, I huffed, poking the center of his forehead with a finger.

"No, ya dummy. Is it Zoro's hair?"

"Nope!"

"Great my tur-Wait, what?"

"It's not his hair!" Luffy was giggling behind his hands madly. My eyes flitted down to Zoro's haramaki.

"Is it his haramaki?"

Luffy was on the floor, laughing now. I saw Zoro chuckling, while Nami passed her laughs off as a few coughs into her hand. I shot them each a mildly frustrated glare.

"Nope! I-It's not his haramaki-hehehe!~"

I looked harder now, _If it's not Zoro, then what the heck could it be? Everything's brown or black practically! _

"The moss on the side of the boat?"  
"Nope!  
"Zoro's bandana?"  
"Nope!  
"The seaweed?"  
"No! Hahahaha!"  
Zoro and Nami weren't even trying to hide their laughter now. I was getting mad, I shot them each a glare. "You know what it is, don't you?!"  
Nami and Zoro looked at me seriously, "No."

My eye twitched as Luffy was turning red in the face from laughter.

"Is it the leaves on the apples in the food barrel?"

"No~!"

"Moss on the oars?"  
"No!"  
"Grime on the boat?"  
"No!"  
"Grime on Zoro's face?"  
"Oi!"  
"Hahahaa No~"

I growled in frustration, _What the heck could it be?!_ I sighed and slumped down to the bottom of the boat. "Alright, geez. I give up, what was it?"  
Luffy was clutching his sides...Until I kicked them and he managed to calm down. "I-It's your hands!" Everyone looked at him weirdly. "My...hands?" He nodded, "Yosh! The glowing mystery holes in your hands!" I looked at them as he held them up for the others to see. "I win!~" He laughed, while Nami shrieked at the inlets in my hands. Zoro's eyes widened in surprise. _How did they not notice…?_ I sweat-dropped, freeing my hands from his grip and putting them behind my head, leaning back and closing my eyes. "Well, game over. You win Luffy."

I shrieked as my leg was suddenly pulled from underneath it. "LUFFY DO NOT TOUCH ME!" He was holding my foot up in air awkwardly, looking at something. "Sugoi! I found another!" Zoro came over and looked over Luffy's shoulder. "What the heck?" Zoro pulled my sock down lower, to see the holes in my ankles. "It goes straight through!" Luffy exclaimed happily, trying to tug off my shoe. "NAMI HELP ME! HELP! I AM BEING ABUSED!" Nami shook out of her surprise and bonked both boys on the head. "That's not how you treat a lady! Bakas!" She scolded. I sighed in relief, glad they didn't see the one on my chest. I shivered at the thought, tugging my sock back up and my jean leg back down. "T-Thank you."

I suddenly found a sheathed sword at my collar-bone. I looked up to see a frowning Zoro. "What do you want?" He didn't say anything, he just stared at me coldly. The boats were silent as all the attention was on me. Finally he said, "What are you?" I blinked, not expecting that. "I'm human." I replied smoothly. Zoro moved his sheathed sword closer, the tip touching my skin. "Why do you have holes in your body?" I shrugged, what was I supposed to say? _I come from another world, and a rabbit with incredible powers decided I needed to become a saint? _"Ever had an ear-piercing go wrong?" He was not amused. "It's just how my powers work, I try not to question it." I said quickly, the sword moving back slightly. "Powers?" I nodded, holding up my hands, letting the gloves materialize. Everyone's eyes widened. "Sugoi!" Luffy laughed, eyes shining. Nami looked shocked, unable to form words. Zoro stepped back slightly, in surprise. "How did you do that?" I wiggled my fingers at him. "Maaaaaaa-gic." He snorted, unbelieving but letting it go as yawned. He sat back down and closed his eyes, making it clear we'd talk later.

Nami mumbled something about this crew being filled with monsters, which I chuckled wryly at. _She has no idea._ I let the gloves disappear and I blinked. Suddenly Luffy was inches from my face again and I socked him in the stomach. "Personal, space. Luffy, I can't breathe with you that close. What do you need?" He smiled widely at me. "Do some magic tricks!" I sweat-dropped. _Oh, right. He's a moron._ I opened my mouth to speak only to have Nami interrupt me. "I can see the next island!" I sighed thankfully. _Now to recruit Pinocchio._

* * *

**(Usopp's P.O.V.)**

"It's true! I just saw it!" Onion exclaimed, panic written on his face. "You're lying." Pepper, Carrot, and I said at the same time. Onion shook his head furiously, dead serious. "No it's true! And the symbol on the flag is of Buggy's pirate fleet!" My eyes bugged out as I looked down at him in shock. "What did you say?!" "It's true! We're dead!" With my quick thinking skills, I quickly turn and ran. "Alas! Time for snacks!" I screeched to a halt and turned around, sighing and patting my "empty" stomach. "Actually, I have this disease that will kill me if I don't eat snacks."

"You're lying!" They accused me. _Man, I taught these kids good if they can see through my master-lying skills!_ "Captain, aren't you always saying you want to be a real pirate?!" Exclaimed Carrot. I sweat-dropped, nodding. "How can a pirate be afraid of other pirates?!" Pepper shouted, Carrot and Onion agreeing with him. "That's right! And there's only three of them…" Now _that_ caught my attention as I sweat-dropped. "What three? Isn't it a big ship?" Onion shook his head, holding up two fingers as he said, "It's just two small boats." I felt a burst of confidence in me and my crew. _We can take four measly pirates easily! I am the great captain Usopp! This will be a piece of cake!_

I struck a "captain's pose", pointing towards the beach. "Okay Usopp pirates! Let's move! Let's fight for the village and peace!" I bravely lead the way, running towards the beach. "Let's go! Follow me!" I heard a chorus of "Yes captain!" behind me and I smiled. Nothing can stop the Usopp pirates if we're together!

* * *

**(Eve's P.O.V.)**

I stretched and stood up as the boat knocked gently against the shore. I still hadn't figured out what to do about the battle, but I still had time so I wasn't worried. "Wow! There's really an island here!" I chuckled at Luffy's complete ignorance of nautical navigation. _At least I know what to expect when you read a map! …At least I know how to read a map! _"What did you expect? We followed the map so it won't be wrong." Nami said, already on the shore and looking at the map in her hands. Luffy pointed at it as Zoro and I stored the oars. "Is there a village here?" He asked Nami, who nodded. "Yep, looks like there's a small village!" Suddenly I remembered Kuro, and my face contorted into a furious frown, catching Zoro's attention. "Something wrong?" I shook my head, saying "no". He looked at me for a moment, before climbing off the boat and securing the mooring lines. I followed, the frown still on my face, though slightly softer as I thought deeply.

_I wonder if, after I meet Kuro, I'll still like cats. I can't imagine a world where I don't like cats! But…_ "I don't like some cats." I said randomly, causing everyone to look at me weirdly, as I had just butted into a conversation they were having. "By the way, I just noticed a moment ago...What are those guys doing there?" Zoro asked, pointing at Usopp and the veggies who were now freaking out and ditching Usopp. We all looked up at him as he called after the Veggies. He looked back at us, sweating bullets before he stood up and crossed his arms. "I am the great pirate fleet leader, Usopp, who is in charge of the security of this village! I'm also known as 'Captain!' 'Captain Usopp'!" He announced proudly. My eyes were half-lidded as I listened, trying out Marco's look for the heck of it. _Marco's so cool, how does he stay so chill all the time? Maybe I'll get to ask him someday. _I mused, completely ignoring Usopp as Nami called him out on his lying and Luffy laughed at him. "I am a man with high self-esteem! Everyone calls me 'The Honorable Usopp!'"

* * *

**At the restaurant Usopp so kindly took us to…(For some reason)**

**(Eve's P.O.V.)**

As I sat next to Luffy, I watched as Zoro played with a straw in his mouth, stifling a chuckle. He looked over at me, raising an eyebrow. "What?" I shrugged, chewing on some celery. "It's just that, when I first met you I didn't picture you as someone who played with straws. I find it funny." I smiled at him, the celery hanging from my mouth much like his straw. He snorted, looking at my empty cup. "Why don't you drink some sake?" He asked and I had the decency to not look appalled. "I'm underage?" I pointed out, innocently. That grabbed everyone's attention. "How old are you anyways?" Nami asked, trying not to look at the glowing hole on my chest, poorly hidden by my clothes and glowing through it. _Gonna need a thick coat. A black one. _"I'm fourteen." I said, nonchalantly. My eyebrows rose at everyone's expressions. "WHAT?!" They exclaimed in unison, except for Luffy. Luffy was eating meat.

I sweat-dropped, swallowing the celery stick. "What? What's the big deal?"

"You're so tall!" That was Usopp.

"You're so strong!" Nami, of course.

"You're just a kid!" My eyes snapped to Zoro, suddenly cold. "What?" He looked at me and pointed with a finger, still shocked. "You're just a kid!" I suddenly shot to my feet and slammed my palms on the table, my bangs shadowing my eyes. "Luffy." He looked up from his meat, "Hmm?" I walked out of the booth, turning towards the marimo. "I'm going outside to talk to Zoro. It might get noisy. That alright...Captain?" My voice was dangerously emotionless. Luffy shook his head. "Nope!" Everyone stiffened, myself included. The temperature in the room seemed to drop. "..What?" I asked.

Luffy shook his head again, looking at me with a neutral expression. "I said you can't fight Zoro outside. My crew shouldn't fight. So no." I clenched my fists, hands shaking. I suddenly sighed and walked out calmly, without Zoro. "I'm going for a walk, alone." Luffy turned back to his meat as I walked out the doors.

**(Nami's P.O.V.)**

"What was her problem?" Zoro asked us, looking confused. I sighed, shaking my head. _Men._

Usopp turned back to the table, mumbling something about "scary red-head." Suddenly he looked up, pointing at Luffy. "Oh yeah, you said you were looking for companions?" Luffy nodded, getting the hint. "Is there somebody who wants to be our companion?"  
"Let me be the Captain, and I'll join you." _You say it like it's an honor or something…_ We quickly ducked our heads and said, "Nevermind."

Usopp said he had to leave for something and then he was out the door. _Weirdo._ I thought, sipping my water thoughtfully. Before I could think for long though, three kids came in announcing something about an "Usopp Pirate Crew!" "What…?" I asked, confused. _Did Luffy know these kids somehow? _"I don't know. Who are they?" He asked, taking a sip from his own drink. _Why do they remind me of vegetables? So weird…_ "Hey...Captain isn't here…!" One said, the pepper-looking one. Onion-head looked stricken with fear and I wondered why. "It can't be that...He's been eaten up…!" I giggled. _Kids and their imaginations._

"H-Hey pirates! What did you do with our Captain Usopp?!" They shouted in unison. "Give us back our Captain!" I sighed, watching the events unfold with a small smile. Laughing slightly when Luffy made them mistake him for eating Usopp...And then Zoro had to make it worse.

"Your Captain…" He said, with his devil's smile. "We ate him." They all shrieked "WITCH!" With their eyes bugging out at me. "WHY ARE YOU LOOKING AT ME?!" I roared as they fainted. I turned on Zoro as he laughed. I slammed my hand on the table with a loud smack. "Why did you tell them those weird things?!"

After clearing up that we did _not_ eat Usopp, Zoro explained he said "It's that time again," before Usopp left the shop. "Oh! So it was time to go to the mansion again." Pepper said, relieved. "Mansion? The place where the sick girl lives?" I asked, wondering why the liar would go there of all places. "Yup." Carrot confirmed, to my surprise. Luffy looked at him, curious. "Why would he go there?" He asked the question on everyone's mind. "To tell lies!" Carrot said with a smile, making us sweat-drop. "Isn't that a bad thing too?" He asked. "That's not bad! Actually it's great!" Pepper said. Onion nodded, saying, "Yeah! It's good!"

Luffy looked just as confused as the rest of us for once.

* * *

**A little ways down the road, in a small grove of trees…**

**(Eve's P.O.V.)**

"Yeaagh!" I shouted, punching down a tree with my gloves equipped. I was breathing heavily, fists clenched as my breath came out in gasps. Sweat trickled down my brow as I glared hatefully at the fallen tree. "RRAAGH!" I spun around and impaled a tree with my elbow spike before punching it hard enough for it to topple over. "JUST A KID?! JUST A KID?! JUST. SOME. WEAK. KID?!" With each word I punched another tree, hearing it creak and slam to the ground I yelled in frustration. "What's wrong Boss? Why are you so mad?" Puuya asked, sitting on a fallen tree, looking sad. Seeing his expression my anger burned down to a low flame. I sighed, running my now naked hands through my hair. "It's just...Whenever I fought back in my world...My little sister would beat me." I admitted, ignoring the stifled chuckles of Puuya. "And I ate a lot of rabbit." That shut him up. Sighing, I sat down and felt my anger leave me. "I would always just..quit." Puuya tilted his head to the side, not understanding. "Quit? Quit what?"

"Quit everything. If there was someone who I had made friends with who stopped talking to me, I'd quit trying to talk to them. If my little sister tried to fight me, I'd quit and let her win. I was a quitter for most things I did. I think...The only thing I didn't quit on..was protecting my friends. Yeah.." I smiled nostalgically, looking up at the sky. "I'd never quit on my friends, ever. I quit on any hope of becoming popular so I could protect my friends from the jerks and bullies of my school. The bullies were intimidated by my height and my big build, so they thought it was actual muscle." I chuckled, remembering scaring the crud out of some people. "I was one of the tallest girls in the school, at five feet, eleven inches." I said, proudly. "I didn't care if it was hard taking the brunt of the bullying. It was nothing compared to the pain of letting it happen to my friends and watching. No, I'd rather die a thousand times over than let my friends get hurt."

Puuya listened quietly for once, just letting me talk. Finally, he spoke up. "But why were you mad at Zoro?" I turned to him, thinking about my answer carefully.

"Because he's my nakama now, and he doubted me. My nakama back home **never** doubted me. And I'll never doubt them. Never doubt the kids."


	5. Creeping in Kurotown

**Disclaimer!: I do not own One Piece! I only own Eve! And Puuya-chan!..And my OC's in general...**

**Special thanks to Chieko Namikaze, Pternophobia, VariegatedMosaic, mittensx7768, rl4940, and xForeverGamerx for following my story! I'm glad you all like it~ XD**

**Special thanks to V.I.Y.H., navicraft23, rl4940, mittensx7768, and Pternophobia for favoriting my story! I feel loved ;w;**

**I'm glad so many people like my story already! I had a lot of trouble with this chapter mainly because I hate Kuro with every fiber of my being. O_O  
In this chapter I leave you all with a mean cliffie too….Mwahahahhaha! :D**

**Please enjoy and review!**

**See you all soon~!**

**~CallmeEevee**

* * *

**At the mansion gates...**

**(Eve's P.O.V.)**

I smiled at Luffy as he said robotically, "Good afternoon, please lend us a ship." As we stood in front of the unmanned mansion gates. We all sweat-dropped as he started climbing over the gate instead of waiting for someone to come. Drowning out the "noise", I thought about the events to come carefully. _I've read before where people would blatantly stated who Kuro was, in front of him..Now that caused a change in plans, but it wasn't too drastic..No I don't want to do that. Maybe I could settle for creeping the creep out? Ohoho I love a challenge… Maybe if I- _"Oi, Eve, you coming?" I looked up, only to realize Zoro was offering to pull me up. I ducked my head in thanks, taking it. _Dang, now I feel like such a jerk! Agh even in the world of my fantasies I still suck at interacting with people…_

"Thanks, Zoro I-" I was cut off by the veggies gaining their Captain's attention by pointing to Luffy. With a quiet sigh, I hopped down to the ground on the other side of the gate and walked over to stand next to Nami. I notice her look from the corner of her eyes, and thought I saw a flash of concern before her attention was averted to Kaya. "A request? Of me?" Kaya asked Luffy. He smiled and nodded, arms wide and energetic as he talked. "Yeah, we need a big ship-"  
"What are you doing in here?!" I barely suppressed a groan as I turned my head to come face to face with a man who gave cats a bad name.

_Ugh, gross. His suit looks like poop. Even _I _have a better fashion sense than that! _Tall, rude, assertive, evil, all of these words could be used to describe Kuro- I mean- _Klahadore._ Even the thought of his name left a bad taste in my mouth. I leaned slightly and whispered to Nami. "This guy is bad news, I don't like him." Nami gave me a subtle nod, to show she heard. I watched in fury as he proceeded to insult pirates, and Yasopp, Usopp's epic dad. _Kaya's even telling him to stop…_ After Usopp punched him and Luffy realized who Usopp's dad was, Klahadore yelled at Usopp to leave. Usopp did, but only because he wanted to, not because Klahadore told him to. After he disappeared from sight, I decided to make my move. I had a vague idea of what I was doing. I had been thinking about today in the diner so I had some preparation. **Boss be careful!- **Not worrying about it, I stepped forward and said what I had always wanted to say to the slimy flea-bag.

"Not that good of a butler are you? Eh, Kla-ha-doreeee-saaannn…." I said, drawing out each syllable of his name, as if mocking him. As if telling him I knew something the man with 1000 plans, did not know. I gave him a creepy smile, my hands in my pockets, leaning forward almost bent completely at the waist at a thirty-five degree angle. My eyes were closed, but even the veggies could feel the temperature drop as all eyes were on me. Kuro regarded me with cold eyes, pushing his glasses up with the heels of his hands. **What are you doing?! **_Relying on my improv classes! _**You mean the ones you slept through? **_Yes! And I'm rockin' it up the wahzoo! _I walked, still hunched over, to where he was "injured" on the ground and gently but firmly pulled him to his feet by his forearm.

"See? Good butlers wouldn't get so **dirty**. Let's go get you cleaned up yes? I'm sure you have enough faith in your _mistress_ to trust her to take care of herself when she's talking to simple travellers?" I knew Kuro saw what I was trying to do, but I didn't let that deter me as I raised my eyelids until my eyes were slits as I looked up at him. "Well, yes but-" I cut him off by whispering something to him, my lips barely moving as I uttered words that made him stiffen ever so slightly. He shot one last glare at us, before his act came back into play.

"It would be ..._dishonorable_ to remain so filthy in Mistress Kaya's presence. However, I expect to find you all gone upon my return." I dusted off his shoulders lazily, waving as he stiffly walked off, giving me a pointed glare. I still had that thin smile stretched across my face, until he was out of sight. Then the shock settled in, and I started shivering from being so close to him. _Oh my Kami.. I did it. _**You did it! **_I did? _**You did! **_I did! YES I AM THE BOAT ROCKER! _**I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN, BUT YAY WE'RE NOT DEAD!**

I returned the shocked gazes with a calm, cool one. "Chill out, I just creeped him out." I said, walking past them towards the gate. _Heck yeah, cool exit time._ Nami watched me go, taking a step towards me. "Wait! Where are you going? What did you say to him?" I didn't turn around, afraid of them seeing my pale face and the bullets I was sweating. My fingers twitched with fear but I swallowed it, so I could reply. "I'm going for a walk, I'm sure you don't need my help to talk to Miss Kaya. Have fun Luffy." I said, waving without looking back.

I felt a weight on my shoulder and saw Luffy's hand. "Hey Eve," He said, looking at me seriously as I turned to him. "Don't do anything stupid." I gave him a wry smile. "Now when have I ever done that Captain?" **Let's see, you got yourself stabbed by Buggy, had a building collapse on you, almost got obliterated by a Buggy Ball- **_RHETORICAL! It was rhetorical! _**Hahaha…**

I felt Zoro's eyes burn holes in the back of my head as I jumped over the gate, but I ignored his worry. _I have no time to be distracted, I have to focus. Puuya, let's have a look at my upgrades…_

**(Zoro's P.O.V.)**

I watched with a grim frown as Eve walked away. _How the heck had she made that butler-guy go away? What did she say to him? _"If she does something stupid…" Luffy waved my worries away with a hand. "Eve won't do anything stupid, she said so. Right Nami?" Nami had a look of concern on her face too, though she tried to hide it. "..Whatever, let's just get a boat and go, like she said." Luffy perked up as he remembered Kaya. "Oh! Right! Like I said, we need a boat so we can go to the Grand Line! Usopp said you had a nice one, is that true?" He asked, turning to Kaya with an excited grin on his face. "W-Well yes, but the Grand Line?! Are you sure? Don't you know how dangerous it is?! You could die!" She protested, a bit panicked at the idea of someone going to the Grand Line. Luffy shrugged, still smiling. "So? I'm gonna be King of the Pirates! And to do that I'll have to find the-" "One Piece, I know." Kaya said, cutting him off, suddenly looking very tired.

I tried to listen to the conversation, but my mind was on other things. Like where a certain kid was going.

* * *

**At the Northern Beach…**

**(Eve's P.O.V.)**

Inside I was shaking, from fear, adrenaline, or excitement I didn't know. Maybe a combination of all three, as I watched the waves roll onto the shore gently. I had my hands in my pockets, casually keeping my breathing even. Hearing soft footsteps behind me I smirked, subtly wiping away the sweat that had gathered on my brow. _Showtime. _"Punctual, for a pirate. A nice quality I almost never have." I said, turning to face Kuro who, I noticed, was armed with his claw-blades. I mentally nodded to myself, _It was to be expected of him. _**I just hope you know what you're doing Eve. **I felt a small ripple of surprise, then it softened to affection. _..I do too._

"How did you know I was Kuro? How did you immediately know that I was the former Captain Kuro? How did you immediately know exactly _what _I was going to do and _when_ I was going to do it?" I saw Kuro's veins starting to bulge on his forehead. I needed to placate him somehow, I needed to buy a little more time before we fight. "It wasn't easy.." I lied, my hands still in my pockets, my composure calming. "I had to dig here and there, use a few favors. You know the drill." I had a serene smile on my face as I subtly bit my lower lip, focusing on the pain so I didn't freak out next to this guy and probably die.

"You're lying." He said, glaring at me coldly and fixing his glasses carefully. "I didn't let anything slip in _three years_. My story, _was __**perfect. **_My methods, _were __**perfect. **_My plan, _was __**perfect!**_" As he said these words he steadily took steps closer, until we were but eight feet away. He started losing his composure, his voice rising slightly. "Yet _somehow_, despite all my precautions, on the day **right** before all my hard work and planning would come to fruition...One. _Little. _**Girl.** Would ruin all my plans in the blink of an eye-" Suddenly he was right in front of my nose, one arm casually resting on my shoulder with the claws caressing the nape of my neck. "Which leads me to wonder.." He continued, the cold steel on my neck causing me to shiver, despite me trying to suppress the urge. "How could said girl come across this impossible information? And do **not lie to me girl, I will know.**" Sweat grew on my brow, _this is bad...He won't believe me if I tell him the truth…! I have to hope Puuya will finish it in time..Here goes nothing. _I quietly let out a pent-up breath and smiled softly. _You can do this, it's just Kuro. He's a piece of cake compared to Arlong. You can do this, because you have to. For-_ "My nakama told me something once, back home." I said quietly, afraid to cause his fingers to twitch and kill me. My eyes rose to meet his hard and cold ones. "If you reveal your secrets to the wind, you should not blame the wind for revealing them with the trees." I felt Kuro stiffen in anger. "Why you impudent little-" I dropped to the ground, and swept my legs in a circle. Hearing Kuro's surprised grunt as he fell to the ground, I quickly backpedalled. He got to his feet, his veins bulging all over the place.

I got into a ready stance, like how my brother taught me: wide and low, yet sturdy. I resisted the urge to flinch as Kuro glared at me. "You will pay, foolish girl…" My lips twitched in a poor attempt at forming a smirk, that I promptly gave up on. Instead, I materialized my gloves on my hands and licked my lips nervously. "This is going to be...Interesting.."

* * *

**Under the tree on the Northern Beach Cliffs, ten minutes later.**

**(Usopp's P.O.V.)**

I sat crossed legged on the top of the cliff as I watched the waves rhythmically slosh on the shore. Suddenly Luffy's face was in front of mine as he said, "Hi! There you are!" H-He was hanging upside-down from the tree branch! "It's you! Why can't you be more normal?!" As he dropped down from the branch and onto his hands he asked me something surprising. "Your Dad...Is Yasopp right?" "Ah…! How do you know that?" I asked, surprised as he plopped down next to me. "I've known him since I was a kid!"  
"Really?! You know my Dad?"

"Yup!"

"You look just like him, no wonder I thought you looked familiar…I just realized that a moment ago."

_I...Look like my Dad? That's...Wow…!_

"Where is he now?" I asked, excited.

"Dunno. But...I'm pretty sure he's on Red Haired Shanks' ship! Yasopp is one of my favorite members of that crew!" He said, beaming at me.

"Re-Really?" I didn't know what else to say…_It's just so...Wow_

I sighed, a smile on my face as I stared into the water.

"So he is on that Red-Haired Shanks' ship huh?"

Then it clicked.

My head snapped around to face him so fast I'm surprised I didn't get whiplash.

"SHANKS THE RED-HAIRED?!" I hollered, my eyes bugging out at him.

"Why you know Shanks?" Luffy asked, his eyes bugging in surprise at my reaction.

I spluttered at the ridiculous notion. "Of course! He is a great pirate! Is my Dad _really _on that great ship?!"

He put his hand to his chin as he thought briefly. "Great? Yeah! His shooting skill is the best, Yasopp never misses anything within his range."

My heart blossomed with pride at my old man.

"Yasopp was a really popular pirate!" He said, chuckling at a memory.

I smiled widely at him. "Is that really true?"

I smiled, standing up to gaze at the sea, and my dreams.

"To tell you the truth, even though he left me for the sea, I'm always proud of my Dad!"

I clenched my fists angrily. "But that-" I cursed, his name, "Klahadore looked down on him! He looked down on my pride!" I sat back down, sighing.

"Yup! I don't like him at all!" Luffy huffed, then looked at me again.

"Are you giving up on seeing that Mistress-sama?"

I leaned back on my hands, calming down again.

"Dunno, maybe if that butler apologizes and begs me, then I'll reconsider!"

He pointed at something below us on the beach.

"That butler?" He asked.

I followed his finger and nodded.

"Yeah that butler...Why is he here?!" I yelped, my eyes bugging as me and Luffy stayed low and out of sight. We eavesdropped on their conversation as stealthily as possible.

Klahadore was chewing Jango out for getting to much attention.

"Jango I told you not to draw the attention of the villagers, why did you sleep in the middle of the street?"

"How can I attract any attention? It's not like I look weird or something!" Jango protested.

Luffy stated the obvious.

"There's a weird-looking guy with him."

I nodded saying, "I've never seen him before, who is he?"

We turned back to our eavesdropping.

Klahadore adjusted his glasses again. "So are you all prepared for it?"  
Jango relaxed a little, confidence written in his expression.

"Of course! We can start operation 'assassinate Mistress-sama' any time!"

_What?! T-They're going to assassinate..KAYA?!_

Klahadore put his hands in his pockets as he complained. "Assassinate' is such an ugly word!"

Jango hastily amended his mistake.

"Ah! Yeah! Accident! We'll call it an accident! Isn't that right Captain Kuro?"

Kuro adopted a somewhat nostalgic look before it disappeared quickly.

"Captain Kuro...I gave up that name three years ago, don't call me by that name again! You are the captain now!"

Luffy pointed down at them as he looked to me for an explanation.

"Hey...What are those guys down there talking about?"  
I was sweating bullets, _this is bad...This is really, really bad…_

"You heard them yourself, why are you asking me? I think I've heard the name Captain Kuro somewhere…" _But where? It was a long time ago...Hmm...Aha!_

"I think he's the pirate famous for his careful planning before robbing and plundering...But I heard he got caught by the Marines three years ago, and got executed…" _So what is he doing here?_

We watched as Jango started dancing theatrically as he talked. "I still remember that day...It simply shocked me…"  
"Hmm?" Kuro asked, ,wondering what Jango was referring to.

"You said you were going to give up being a pirate, and made me the Captain!"

Jango walked backwards, his thumbs pointed down dramatically.

"Everyone thinks that Captain Kuro has been executed by the Marines! But actually, you hid in this little village, and told us to come here in three year's time."

Jango sat down on a rock, a hand on his hat as Kuro kept silent.

"Before, when I worked for you, there were always a lot of 'benefits'. That's the only reason I worked for you! I can get a good share this time, right?"

Kuro looked at him from the side, his leg slightly tender and the pant leg torn.

"Yes! If you succeed you'll get your share."

"Good! Leave that girl to me!"

"Killing her is not enough, you have to make it look like an accident! It looks like you're not ready yet!"

Jango tilted his hat with a finger, offended. "Shut up! I'm completely ready! When you send the signal, we'll charge into the village...And kill the Mistress simple as that! Then you can openly claim her inheritance."

Kuro scoffed fixing his glasses and turning his back to Jango.

"I wonder if your Mom actually gave you a brain! I have no relation to her family, how can there be inheritance for me?"

Jango hit his palm with his fist, undeterred.

"We can work on it!"  
Kuro glared slightly, looking back at Jango.

"It's no use! The most important part is.." He turned and bent over, pointing and motioning to Jango with his finger inches from his face. "Before you kill her, you have to hypnotize her...And make her write my name in the will! 'I will leave all my wealth to my butler, Klahadore!"

_I have heard something bad! I have heard a horrible..horrible plan…_

"Hey what's going on? This doesn't look good." Luffy asked, eyebrows furrowed as he looked down at the scene below.

My jaw dropped and my eyes bugged out at him.

_Isn't he listening?! Of course it doesn't look good! They're serious about this! _I turned my attention back down to the two pirates below. _So for three years...They've already lusted after Kaya's family wealth! And that butler...No! Captain Kuro is still alive… _I gasped as I realized something. _And I punched him before...He'll kill me for sure!_

"Kaya will be killed too! The village will be under attack...Not good...Not good at all!" I was sweating bullets, on the verge of losing it. I squawked as Luffy suddenly got to his feet.  
"Don't stand up! They'll see you!"

"HEY YOU TWO! DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH THE MISTRESS-SAMA!"

Kuro glared up at Luffy, a cut now visible on his left cheek.

"They just keep coming...Jango take care of them like you did the girl." Kuro growled.

I tried to pull Luffy down desperately. "You idiot! They'll kill you!" I saw Jango preparing his pendulum and I ducked, averting my eyes as Luffy looked at the pendulum. After Luffy got hypnotized and fell off the cliff, I panicked and ran.

I ran as fast as I could.

As far as I could.

* * *

**Hahaha I felt a spark of evil in me this time...I DIDN'T TELL YOU WHAT HAPPENED TO EVE! HAHAHAHAHHA :D Oh well~ Guess you'll just have to wait~ Mwahahaha..Ha..**

**So! Tell me what you think! Leave me reviews, because I love them and I shall enjoy constructive criticism! Until next time, Ciao!~**


	6. Revelations and Determination!

**I'm back! Sorry it took so long for me to write this one, again blame Kuro! I HATE HIM! ..Snob.. Anyways, Please read, review, relax, read it again, realize I don't own One Piece, and just enjoy!~**

**Chapter Song: "Secret" By The Pierces**

* * *

**(Zoro's P.O.V.)**

After we followed the kids to the cliff where Captain was supposed to be, he wasn't there. We searched around a bit until Nami spotted him at the bottom, sleeping. _What is that idiot doing now?_ I grunted in irritation, climbing down while Nami helped the village kids down the rocks. I walked over to him and nudged him with a foot. "Hey, Luffy. Get up." No response. _Of course he'd be so stupid as to sleep at the bottom of a cliff and never wake up._ Nami and the kids ran over, the kids poking Luffy as they tried to get him up while Nami assumed a thoughtful pose. Suddenly, she snapped her fingers. "I've got it! Kids, step back." I watched with crossed arms. _If I couldn't wake him up easily, what makes her think she can? _Nami bent down until she could talk into his ear, then she whispered one word.

"Meat."

I cringed at his sudden movement as he jerked his head up, wide awake. "Baka Captain…" I grumbled. "Meat! Where?!" Was all he said, his head whipping around frantically until it looked up, confused. "Hey, what am I doing down here?" I watched as Nami sorted things out. Apparently he fell asleep and fell off the cliff. I snorted at the stupidity of the situation. "How did you manage to fall asleep **standing?**" I asked, looking down at my Captain. Luffy proceeded to explain how he and Usopp had overheard Klahadore and another man named Jango planning to kill Kaya. Suddenly Nami stiffened as Luffy was recounting the conversation "pretty much" word-for-word according to him.

"Wait, Luffy,what did you just say?!" Luffy blinked, and then repeated what he had previously said. "The butler-guy said 'They just keep coming...Jango take care of them like you did the girl.' And then I stared at that circle-thingy and I woke up here. Where's my meat by the way?" Nami and I shared a tense look, we had stopped listening after he said "like you did the girl". Nami had a hand to her mouth in horror and my mouth was set in a grim line. "Luffy." I said quietly as he looked up at me, head tilted in a silent question. "Where's Eve?" Luffy shrugged, before it clicked in his head. He stood up, his eyes shadowed by his strawhat. "We need to find her." I nodded as we fanned out, the kids freaking out about Kaya.

After five minutes I notice a thin trail of blood. Deciding to follow it, I walk for twenty feet before coming to a cluster of rocks shielded partially by the cliff side. "Oi! Luffy! I found her!" I hear running feet on the ground behind me as I start shifting rocks. She was unconscious, and had cuts all over. She didn't look good, she was pale, but it's a miracle she wasn't crushed by the rocks. "It looks like a rockslide...If there weren't clear impact marks behind her. Someone must've caused this." I reasoned. Luffy didn't say anything as he and I finished clawing her out of the rubble. She looked bruised and exhausted, but alive. She had three shallow cuts on her left cheek, a deep one on her right, and a small deep one on her nose. But she was breathing, and I saw the relief in Luffy's eyes. _Thank Kami she isn't dead…_

I gently lifted her out of the rocks and sat her down on the beach, only to watch as her gloves suddenly disappeared. _S-So she caught the rubble and stopped it from crushing her as she lost consciousness?! This kid's stronger than I thought. _I quickly checked her for broken bones, but found none. "Hey Luffy," I said, noticing my strangely silent Captain watching over my shoulder with Nami and the kids. "She's alright. Nothing's been broken. She should wake up soon." Luffy just nodded in reply, his fists clenched tightly by his sides. Standing back so Nami could do a more thorough job of making sure she's okay with her sewing kit, I turned to Luffy. "...What're we going to do?" I mumbled quietly, aware of the tension in his shoulders and posture.

He didn't say anything for a moment, before raising his head slightly and looking down at the unconscious form of his nakama. "We're going to help Usopp protect this village and the Mistress...Then I'm going to kick that butler's butt."

"In that order?"

"Whichever comes first."

Our attention was grabbed when we heard coughing. Eve was awake.

**(Eve's P.O.V.)**

I groaned softly as the aching cuts in my face throbbed, the few shallow cuts on my collarbone insignificant in comparison. I cringed against the sunlight and relaxed as someone shaded me. "Thanks…" I mumbled to the mystery person. Or was it people? I felt more shadows above me and managed to squint my eyes open slightly, hearing young voices exclaim concern. "Whoa slow down I can't hear you.." I said, my brain fuzzy and their voices sounding garbled. I looked up at the blurry form of Luffy crouching next to me, his head tilted to the side in confusion as he said something. "OI! Ibu wa, anata wa daijōbudesuka? ! Dare ga anata ni kore o shinakatta? Watashi wa karera no shiri o kikku suru tsumorida!" I blinked owlishly up at him, my sore brain not understanding what the heck just came out of his mouth.

"Um...What? I mean..Nani?" Luffy looked more concerned as he repeated his garbled sentence. My head was throbbing as I sat up and clutched at my forehead, drained of energy. "Um…" I said dumbly, listening to their cacophonous shouts of worried words. _What are they speaking?...Ugh..My head…_ I couldn't feel Puuya and a shot of panic jolted through my body as I was suddenly on my feet. "P-Puuya? Puuya where are you?!" I shouted, panicked while my friends looked at me like I lost my marbles. Zoro walked up behind me, putting his hands on my shoulders firmly. "Chotto, ochitsui te. Kono yō ni shite iru toki, watashitachi wa anata o rikai suru koto wa dekimasen. Anata ga suwatte suru hitsuyō ga arimasu." He said it in a calming manner, but that only made my frazzled mine panic more as I realized I had no idea what he was saying.

Suddenly, my legs gave out and I crumpled to my knees, Zoro holding me up partially. _W-What happened…? What's going on..? Come on...Remember! _I was struck by a flashback and I stiffened, shocked as the vision played through my mind.

* * *

**Queue the flashback!**

"_You will pay, foolish girl…" Kuro said, glaring coldly as I armed myself with my gloves. _

"_Probably." I agreed, trying to subdue the growing urge to slap myself at my stupidity. _Luffy got hurt badly fighting this guy, and you think you can take him just because you have a nice pair of gloves? Baka you're going to die! _I ignored myself as I focused solely on Kuro, determined not to die. He swiped at me experimentally with his sword-claws and I leapt back as if shot from a gun, my muscles tenser than they've ever been. _

_I inhaled deeply, trying to force myself to relax. I knew I would have to react quickly if I was to survive this hopeless fight. He lunged and clawed at me again, his face cold and furious. Grabbing his claws with a hand each, it quickly became obvious he was much stronger than me. I quickly twisted his hands to the side at a painful angle and kicked his exposed side harshly. He barely skidded backwards as I released his claws. _

Oh come on! I'm not THAT weak am I?! This sucks! _Kuro suddenly disappeared with his 'Silent Step'. I stumbled backwards in surprise, my head twisting this way and that to try and spot where he'd appear. I suddenly felt his presence behind me and spun around only to get clawed in the face. _

"_Agh!" I stumbled backwards blindly, my palms desperately wiping at the bloody cuts on my face. He got a direct hit on my nose and cheek, three cuts on my left cheek and one small one across the bridge of my nose. Gritting my teeth against the pain I swung a punch at his face, only to miss as he disappeared again. _

"_Kami Dangit!" I growled, tensely waiting for him to appear. Suddenly, I was on my back, my feet kicked from underneath me and the breath driven from my lungs. I tried to move my arms to push myself up only for Kuro to stomp on my stomach painfully, effectively pinning me to the ground. _

"_Tell me how you know, how you figured it out!"_

"_No! I don't like you! You suck and you eat way too much kitty kibble! Fatty, get off!"_

_I suddenly flicked my wrists and hidden blades slid out from the underside of my gloves, stabbing Kuro's ankle from both sides. _

_He grunted in pain, glaring and vanishing again. I stumbled to my feet grimacing, bent over slightly as I recovered some much needed air. Suddenly Kuro appeared and sliced at me with both hands. I quickly brought up both blades, my arms shaking as they overlapped the blades and barely caught the attack. His blades pressed against mine as my feet were slowly sliding back from his strength no matter how hard I pressed back. My arms were shaking from the strain, and my eyes squinting from the pain. _

"_U-Ugh...Dude lay off the catnip, drugs aren't the answer!" I grunted out, sweat on my brow as I dug my heels into the ground._

"_Tell me or I'll kill you and your whole crew." He said, a deadly cold look in his eyes, our faces only separated by our blades._

_I smirked at him weakly, kicking his… 'yarn balls'. He groaned in pain, stumbling back in obvious pain. I wiped some blood from my face with a hand as I gave him a determined grin._

"_You can't beat Luffy. He's a true pirate, who doesn't run from his own name! And I'm proud to sail under him, the future Pirate King!"_

_Kuro scoffed, straightening and fixing his glasses, veins clearly bulging on his forehead. _

"_You and your friends are just foolish children playing pretend. You haven't been hardened by years on the sea and facing many enemies. You know nothing and you will all die because of your silly childish dreams."_

_Now it was my turn to glare, and glare I did. I clenched my fists and started shaking in anger._

"_How dare you…" I glared up at him through my hair, my eyes cold and intense as he stood there indifferently. "How dare you…" I growled, gritting my teeth as my anger grew. I leapt at him surprisingly quickly, fury etched in my every feature. "HOW DARE YOU DOUBT LUFFY!" I roared, head-butting his stomach and slamming into him with my whole body. "YOU'RE THE ONE WHO KNOWS NOTHING YOU MORONIC ASPHALT-KISSER!" I shouted, rolling to the side as we lunged at each other, blades clanging against each other. He swiped at my side and I rolled out of the way, coming up and cutting into his hip slightly._

"_LUFFY" I rolled backwards, barely dodging an attack.  
"CAN" I dashed forwards, zig-zagging with my arms behind me.  
"DO" I dove sideways to avoid becoming shredded cheese.  
"ANY-" I jumped off the cliff side, coming at him from the air._

"_THING!" I grabbed his blades head-on and crouched as I landed, flipping him over my shoulder and slamming him into the ground by his arms.  
"DON'T" I stomped on his arms, raising a foot to one of his hands.  
"YOU" I stomped down on the five blades on his right hand.  
"DARE" They shattered and I stumbled away as he ripped his other claws across the back of my right calf.  
"DOUBT" He lunged at me.  
"MY" I blocked with one blade, pulling back my right fist. Somewhere behind him I heard __**"When I say one, two, Jango, you'll fall asleep!"  
**__"NA-" He dodged my right fist and we broke apart, charging at each other again. __**"One!"**__  
"KA-" Kuro suddenly disappeared and I saw a pendulum in front of me. _**"Two!" "JANGO!"**_  
"MA-ah…" My eyes rolled backwards in my head as Kuro kicked my limp body into the side of the cliff and everything faded to black as I heard something falling above me._

* * *

"Ah! I remember! I was fighting Kuro! And then...Jango showed up? He must have hypnotized me and then Kuro kicked me!" The others looked at me with confused gazes.

"Kuro? Kuro wa anata ni kore o shinakatta?" Luffy asked, head tilted to the side in a confused manner.

Suddenly, something seemed to slam into my brain, not helping my headache at all. "Ow…Hai..." I moaned, holding my still injured or bruised sides. Zoro gingerly set my against the rocks, careful to not aggravate my injuries. **Boss! I'm back! I did it! I hid your backpack! **I silently heaved a sigh of relief. _Thank Kami...Now quickly! Please fix my translator! _

It was if a switch went off in my brain, one moment the others were spouting absolute gibberish and the next, sweet, sweet English.

"-at do we do now, Luffy? Eve can't talk for some reason and Usopp's nowhere to be seen." Said Nami, arms crossed with a worried expression on her face. Luffy wasn't looking at her though, he was looking straight at me as he walked over. Crouching down to eye level, he stared at me seriously.

"Eve, are you okay now?" He asked, a flash of worry in his eyes.

I blinked, the pounding in my head finally going down as Puuya started to numb the pain throughout my body with his influence. "Yes Captain, I can hear you now." I said, smiling reassuringly up at him as he broke out into a large grin.

"Good," he said, standing up with a hand on his hat as he turned to look up at the cliff. "Then let's go find Usopp."

* * *

**At the Southern Slope!**

**(Eve's P.O.V.)**

After I thoroughly explained what happened to me and Usopp accepted our help, he led us to the Southern shore. I tuned him out as he explained the situation to the others as I leant against a tree and conversed with Puuya. _Where did you hide my backpack? Did anyone see you? _**Nope Boss! Just like you said, I stayed low and in the shadows~ No one saw nothin'! **

I nodded to myself, relieved. _Good, if they had found my iPhone...Man I don't even want to think about it.. How quickly can my wounds heal with your help?_

**Um...Well they'll be scabbed over by tomorrow, except the one on your nose Boss...That one's gonna be a um..**

_A what?_

**A scar, you'll have a scar by tomorrow morning.**

I sighed quietly, grimacing slightly when my face wounds twinged. I had stopped by the village doctor who had quickly bandaged me while Nami paid.

I looked back at the others as they started putting the oil down. _But this is the wrong shore, I need to stop them! But then they'll ask how I know...Maybe I can say I can see a person's future? It'll only go so far until I hit an obstacle but...Okay I need to do this._

"Oi! Minna! You sure this is the right slope?" I asked them, a small smirk on my face despite the annoying bandages. They looked at me blankly, about to waste more oil. I sighed and my eyes met Usopp's. "Dude, Northern beach, the other entrance to the village...Where we docked our ship, ringing any bells anyone?!" Realization slapped Usopp in the face as he jolted in surprise.

"She's right! Th-there's another beach! But why would they come from there and not here?" Asked Usopp, looking confused and worried.

I put my hands behind my head as I walked over to them, avoiding the little amount of oil on the ground. "'Cause they just will. I know it."

Zoro raised a doubtful eyebrow at my groundless claim. "And how do you 'know it'? Are you sure you're not just tired from all those hits you took? Maybe you lost too much blood."

I opened an eye to look at him lazily, confidence oozing off of me in waves. "Because I can see the future." I said simply, with varying reactions from my crew mates and soon-to-be-crewmate.

"REALLY?! SUGOI!" Luffy shouted, his eyes shining.

"What! No way!" Nami said, doubtfully.

"I'm with Nami for once, there's no way you can see the future." Zoro scoffed.

"W-What? F-F-F-Future?! Really?! Are you a witch?! Stay away!" And lastly, the cowardly Pinocchio himself, Usopp.

"It's true!" I protested, my arms swinging by my sides slowly. "The Black Cat Pirates will come at sunrise to the Northern beach and attack the village."

"Look," Nami said, walking up to me with a disbelieving expression. "While I agree it's possible they might come from that direction, there's no way to prove you can suddenly see the future. Though, we need to come up with a new plan now." She said, turning to Luffy who was thinking again. _I hope his face doesn't turn red…_

"How about we post Usopp and someone else people at the Northern slope and if they show up, Usopp can fire a signal into the sky and the three people down here will come running." Zoro suggested, and we all looked at him in surprise. _He actually said something intelligent for once...Wow! Who knew?_

"I'll go with Usopp." I volunteered, looking to Luffy for his decision. He nodded, suddenly putting his fist in his palm.

"Yosh! That's what we'll do! Now," he said, his trademark jaw-breaking grin on his face as he crossed his arms while addressing us. "Let's go kick those pirates' butts!"

_Right now, I couldn't be prouder to be a Strawhat Pirate._

* * *

**_Hello Minna! So I'm putting the translations for the Japanese down here in the order they appear~_**

**_Looks like Eve finally has a new upgrade, and they're some kick-butt weapons of mass assassination! Or awesomeness, each to his own I guess. :D_**

**_Special thanks to all my followers and favorites! You all rock on!_**

**_Shout-out to my most recent followers/favorites: Chieko Namikaze, KonekoNoRenkinjutsushi, Sayonara Yasashii Akumu, Yuriko-Rurinia, commanderKrod, and Keeperofhounds~!_**

**_Special virtual cookies will be sent to your dreams~_**

**_Please R+R, so I can know what you think!_**

**Translations:**

Why can't we understand what she's saying?

Did she injure her throat after all?

Oh no! What are we going to do?! How are we going to save the village?!

Hey, settle down. We can't understand you when you're like this. You need to sit down.

Kuro? Kuro did this to you?


	7. Chapter 7: Ripping Fungi from Rip-offs!

**HAI! Please R+R and Enjoy! I don't own One Piece! Oh! And thanks to all of my wonderful followers, I'll give you a shout-out below!**

* * *

**At the Northern Shore!~**

**(Eve's P.O.V)**

Usopp and I stood there in awkward silence, watching the first rays of sun tickle the clouds as it rose to begin the new day. Not able to stand his nervous glances in my direction, I finally sighed and said, "I'm not a witch Usopp, I've told you that already. I just have some powers, call it a Devil Fruit if you want, it's pretty much what it is anyways. You don't need to be wary of me, alright? I'm your ally and friend now, I'd never do anything to hurt you. Scare you? Maybe...Probably. Hurt you? Not possible, okay?" I said, turning to him with a small, friendly smile on my face.

It seemed to work, as his tense shoulders relaxed and he nodded with a smile of his own. "Y-Yeah, I got it. Thanks." We stood in a more comfortable silence after that, both of us smiling softly until the grimness of the current situation returned as the sun finally showed itself. Something seemed to occur to Usopp just then as he turned to me, a curious expression on his face. "By the way Eve, what _can_ you do?"

I shrugged indifferently, thinking for a second. "I can stab people...Catch swords with my hands, maybe even flip someone. Nothing quite as exciting as stretching." I chuckled, noticing Usopp shudder at my blunt indifference. Suddenly, he hopped to his feet, his hand on his brow and shielding his eyes as he looked out towards the horizon.

"I can see it! Y-You were right! That's unmistakably the Kuro Neko Pirates' ship!" I smirked, yawning and standing up to stretch my arms before I clapped Usopp on his shoulder.

"Just remember Usopp," I said sagely, grinning at my successful _prediction._ "Women are **always** right. Now, how about that signal eh? Don't want the others to get stuck in that oil for nothing~!" I chirped happily, inwardly chuckling at Usopp's stunned reaction. As Usopp sent one of his "Kayaku Boshi"s skyward, I was watching the approaching boat with a dark look.

_**Boss? Everything okay? **__I'm going to rip that ugly mushroom stalk from Jango's face and make him eat it. _I swear Puuya sweat-dropped and shivered as I internally laughed maniacally. _**I-I'm not so sure this fight is going to be healthy for you Boss...Are you sure you don't want to rest more? I mean, your wounds should still be pretty sore and-**_ _I am going to fight, Puuya, I refuse to let Jango go after what he did to my gorgeous face._ I smirked, inwardly chuckling at my moment of egotistical fury. _That MJ rip-off is going to find out the real meaning of dance once I twirl around his attacks and feed him his own fungus! __**E-Ew…**_ _MWAHAHAHHAHA!_

I turned my head slightly to speak to Usopp, not taking my eyes off the quickly approaching ship. "Hey, chill man. You don't need your knees to knock with me around, okay? I won't let them kill you." Usopp merely gulped and nodded, trying not to cower behind me as the ship finally crunched against the beach. I heard footsteps behind me and I turned around to see Nami had arrived.

"What? Those two morons aren't here yet?" She huffed, hands on her knees as she regained her breath. I shrugged indifferently, knowing they'd get here eventually. I watched as the other crew started parading off the boat and onto the beach as they shouted "GO!" I gave Usopp a reassuring look and he pulled out his slingshot and ammo, sighting his first targets.

"Wagh!"

"Agh!"

"Ugh!" I grinned as the targets fell in quick succession under his shots. _He's good, even now._

"Th-There's someone on the slope!"

I narrowed my eyes once I spotted Jango at the back of the group, looking up at us. I couldn't see his eyes due to his glasses, but I would bet on the bullets he was sweating, that he was surprised to see me breathing.

"How are you still alive?!" He shouted, paling slightly at the sight of my glare.

I didn't lessen my glare or turn my head as I said to Usopp, "The hypnotist is **mine.** You take out as many underlings as you can. I'll cut the ones in my way." My voice was not ice, but empty, emotionless. I think Usopp shivered, while Nami was nowhere to be seen. He nodded, strapping on his goggles before loading up more ammo.

I could see Jango gulp as he stuttered out an order to his men. "M-Men don't forget! If we fail in attacking the village, Captain Kuro will kill us all!" That spurred them into action, as they charged forward with a battle cry.

I casually swiped the bangs from in front of my eyes as I smiled sweetly, slowly lowering my hand as my eyes snapped open, a dark gleam to them. "I was hoping you'd say that…" I said quietly, unsheathing both blades with a quiet flick of my wrists. I started chuckling, my insane-side grinning with glee. "I won't let any of you pass me alive." I said, charging forward with my arms angled behind me, the ghostly smile still on my face.

I quickly dashed through the first two rows of underlings, my face impassive as my legs pumped and my arms worked as if dancing. My blades spun and dove through the air, cutting through arms, legs, ankles, wrists, backs, anything they could touch in the brief moment I passed.

I spun around to a halt, driving my blades into the lower backs of the last two idiots as I watched the two lines slowly crumple and cry out in pain. My eyes snapped to Usopp's as I flicked the blood off my neon blue blades. "Your turn, watch my back. Don't let them pass by you or your village will suffer because of it." Not waiting for his response, I turned to smile at Jango who was a few meters away now. I closed my eyes slowly, blinking away any mind-clouding fury. I exhaled slowly, my face determined as I pointed a thumb at myself while glaring into Jango's eyes, and then I pointed the thumb at him. By the way he was gripping his chakrams tightly, he got the message.

* * *

_[Queue Music: "One, Two, Three" ]_

I dashed forward, eating up the meters in mere seconds. I slashed at him with my right blade which he managed to block with one of his chakram. I stared up at him with an empty face as our blades clashed, each of us bringing up our other blade to push against the other. I kicked his knee, shocking the nerve momentarily. I socked him in the face while his guard was lowered, sending him skidding backwards as he wiped blood from his lip where he had bitten it.

He tried to use a chakram as a pendulum to hypnotize me, but I was having none of that. "I don't fall for the same trick twice 'Fungi Face'." I was suddenly in front of him, my fist crushing the bones in his face. He went flying as I let a small grin slip onto my lips for a flash of a second.

"Captain Jango!" His crew cried out in worry, I nearly looked back to glare at them, before remembering my number one rule: _Never look away from your opponent._ My eyes were glued to Jango as he picked himself up slowly, standing to face me again.

"How are you still alive, you brat!" He growled, gripping his chakrams as he reassumed his fighting stance, his blades in front of him and ready to strike. I tilted my head to the side and smiled wryly at him, my arms open in what would look like a hug if not for the blades on my arms.

"Even now I'm in this world, I still have a purpose to live. So long as that purpose exists, so shall I live." I was grinning now, but it faded into a cold frown as I straightened my arms and stood silently before speaking. "You will regret trying to hurt my Captain, and this village. Your plan ends now!" I roared, slamming both my blades into his, causing sparks to fly into existence.

I didn't let up as I kept swiping and slamming our blades together, barraging him with a furious array of chops, slices, arcs, and twists. I managed a cut on his left arm, but it wasn't deep as I had already begun to attack another part of his body. I got his right hip, his right cheek, his left thigh, and finally I jumped and caught myself on my hands, kicking him with both feet in the stomach. _**Hard.**_

"Eugh!" He spat out blood as he slammed into a decent-sized rock a few feet away.

Rolling to my feet and ignoring the pain in my back from maneuvering so much, I dashed forwards, grabbing the collar of his greasy jacket in my fingers. I pulled my right blade back, preparing to slice- I was suddenly in the opposite cliff wall, the breath driven from my lungs and blood filling my throat as I coughed, dazed and confused. _Wh-...What?!_ I squinted through my blurry vision as my head swam.

My ears were ringing, I couldn't hear anything other than the Kuro Neko crew shouting joyfully "Buchi! ….am! We're-...ved!" I coughed weakly, blood seeping into the ground as I tried to piece together what the heck just happened to me. My body was on fire with pain, stuck in the rocky cliff wall with what I swore was a fist and a foot imprint in my stomach. I tried to move but my spine exploded with white, searing pain and I tried to scream past the blood in my throat.

"A-agh…! F-Freaking s-stupid baka…" I moaned softly, head hanging lifelessly. I heard the hurried crunch of boots as they raced towards me and I opened a squinting eye, looking up slightly to see Usopp's goofy boots. "..Hey.." I chuckled softly. "..Y..ou holding up alr-right?" I croaked, my throat burning painfully but I paid it no mind as I smiled weakly up at him.

He was shaking, poor guy. He stuttered and fumbled over his words for a moment, before he finally managed to speak. "ARE YOU INSANE?! YOU LOOK LIKE YOU'RE DEAD OR YOU'RE GONNA DIE ANY MINUTE! WHAT AM I GOING TO TELL LUFFY?!"

I raised an eyebrow at his outburst, before smirking wryly. "You don't have to...tell him, he's already h-here." I said, pointing behind him and up the slope to where Luffy, Zoro, and Nami (with her treasure) stood, glaring down at the pirates below. I saw Zoro spot me in the cliff wall and his eyes widened as he said something to Luffy. Luffy looked like he was shot with lightning. "Oops..Looks like I worried him...again..Dang it all..! …" I could feel the anger growing inside of me. _I'm sick of being injured dang it! I hate this! I'm sick of making Luffy worry about me! I'm not weak! _**Boss- **_I'm not weak! _I growled, slowly shifting in the wall of rock. "I'm...not..weak.." I mumbled.

Usopp looked at me with wide eyes as I slowly started pulling myself out. "I'm...not...weak..!" I felt some pebbles skitter down the rock and bounce off my shoulder as I started shaking from the effort, blood threatening my throat again. "I'm not weak! I'M NOT WEAK DANGIT! LUUUFFFFYYYYYYY!" I roared, bursting forth from the wall, growling at the pirates as I shakily stood up. "JANGO IS MINE! I'M NOT DONE YET!" I shouted, grinning as I looked up at him. He was smiling too.

"Okay! Zoro, take out those two cats! They look weak!" Zoro merely grunted as he started walking down the slope while Luffy took out any remaining underlings Usopp hadn't gotten.

Zoro gradually led Sham and Buchi away from an injured Jango. I sighed as I realized I had a time limit before the wounds caught up with me.

"It's now or never I guess." I took a shaky step forward, my knee shaking slightly as I put weight on the leg. I took another step. Another. Another. Slowly I started to speed up on my wobbly legs, my eyes grim and determined as I stared at nothing but Jango. I rammed into his fist with my own, his chakrams lost somewhere when I knocked him back previously. I thanked the creator of the gloves for their foresight to add thickness to the knuckles as I watched Jango's mouth screw up in pain from the collision.

He stumbled back and I grabbed the front of his shirt with a cocky smirk. "When I say 'one, two, Jango,' you will fall asleep." I ignored his flailing as he tried to hit me. I swiftly swung him by his shirt sideways, smacking him into the cliff. "One," I jerked him back, driving my knee into his gut and making his lungs lose all their air. "Two," I grabbed his wrist and crouched, judo-flipping him over me and letting him slam into the ground with a painful _**twack!**_ "Three," I pulled him up by his collar again and smiled a sickly sweet smile, plunging my fist into his face. "Jango~" He slumped to the ground, unconscious.

I sighed happily, waving to a stunned Usopp as I laughed and fell backwards, unconscious before I hit the ground.

* * *

**On the Merry-Go!**

**(Eve's P.O.V.)**

I smiled as the sea breeze teased my hair from my hoodie, my wounds only sore now, and a stab to my pride but nothing more. I glanced around the deck at my crewmates from my position leaning against the mast. Nami was at the rudder, making sure the Merry didn't drift as Zoro lowered the anchor. Usopp was fiddling with his stars and Luffy was messing around with of the cannons. I quickly slapped my hands over my ears as it went off. _Hehehe I can't believe I'm on THE Going Merry! I think my inner fangirl is having her own noodle dance! AAAAAAAHHHH! _

**Oh~ Now I want noodles~! **_Just wait 'til Sanji joins! His food is supposed to be the best ever! _**Aw Boss, now my mouth is watering! Can I come out now?~ **_What? Dude, no way! I can't let my crew see you! _**Why noooooootttt? **_Because um..They might try to eat you!_ **...I suddenly don't need to go outside anymore…**

I followed everyone inside after Usopp shot the rock like a pro, not wanting to be outside when Johnny comes and throws a tantrum. As everyone situated themselves inside I had walked over to the fridge and pulled out some limes, squeezing them into a bucket and earning myself a few weird looks. I shrugged and smirked mischieviously, trying to avoid getting the juice under my bandages. (Which were, thankfully almost non-existent. I only had a bandage across my nose and two on my right arm.)

A few minutes later we heard someone shouting on deck and the shattering of a barrel. Luffy rushed out as Nami and Usopp nervously peeked through the window on the door. "How many enemies are out there?" Zoro asked, sitting against the wall casually.

"Just one I think." Usopp and I said in sync, which made him flinch. "How did you know what I was going to say?!" He shrieked, knees knocking together.

I finished squeezing the limes at last, turning to smile at him before jabbing a thumb at my head. "I'm a psychic remember? I know all~" I chuckled. I don't giggle because that would require my IQ lowering about six percent. I need that six percent to come up with snarky undertones! Usopp just shivered while Zoro turned his eyes to me.

"So who's out there right now?" Zoro asked, a curious gleam to his eyes. I turned around with the bucket of juice in my hands and a smile on my face.

"It's Johnny and Yosaku! Your old bounty-hunting pals~!" He looked surprised and stood up, walking over to the door.

"Really? Those guys are here?" Then we discovered Yosaku was mysteriously sick with an unknown "disease". Nami looked like she wanted to facepalm, hard. I just patted her on the back comfortingly as she explained Yosaku had scurvy. I handed her the bucket of limes as realization flooded my crewmates' faces.

"Oh so _that's_ why you were squeezing limes!" Nami said, suddenly realizing I had to have at least some perception of the future.

"W-Witch!" Usopp shrieked, hiding behind Luffy.

"...Maybe she is a psychic after all.." mumbled Zoro.

Luffy just took the juice from Nami and fed it to Yosaku, who then sprang to his feet in an impossible display of "health."...Until he collapsed a few minutes later like a proper human.

"Hahaha called it!" I did not really call it, but I did not care. I laugh when I wish to!

"We definitely need someone to think about our diet to see to it that we stay healthy." Usopp said, resting against the base of the mast with his hands behind his head as Yosaku was watched over by Johnny. Nami nodded in agreement, standing next to Zoro as I sat next to Luffy by the railing.

"If you think about it, that's one of the most important talents you should have out at sea." Luffy was just smiling excitedly, staring into the air, in his own little world before he suddenly stuck out his tongue cheerfully.

"Alright! I've decided then! Let's go look for a sea cook! Eating good food is never a bad thing!" I snorted, already thinking of how many dishes would pile up when Sanji joined. _Poor guy. _

"Bro!" Johnny said, standing by the stairs while raising his hand high as if speaking in a classroom. Zoro looked at him curiously, probably wondering why he was raising his hand to speak.

"What is it Johnny?"

"If you're looking for a cook, I know just the place. Of course, getting one to join you is another matter altogether…"

Johnny told us about "The Baratie, a restaurant on the seas!"

Of course Luffy was ecstatic, and even Nami and Usopp were smiling excitedly. Zoro was being Zoro and looking unsurprised. _Of course._

As Johnny continued to explain how long it would take to get there, (two to three days,) a thought struck me. I quietly slipped inside the girls' quarters as Zoro started to get excited about the chance to fight Mihawk.

**Whatcha' doin' Eve-Boss?**

_Searching for my torn jeans and my fedo...ra...That I don't have DANGIT! Ugh...I miss my fedora…_

**There, there, boss. I'm sure once we get to Loguetown you'll be able to buy a whole bunch of them!**

I opened my clothes trunk and saw an orange bandana that wasn't there before.

_How...convenient eh, Puuya?_

**Ehehehe~ I have no idea what you're talking about~**

_You're worse than Usopp at lying, and that is saying something._

**I** slipped on a plain red t-shirt and the jeans with holes at the knees, before tying the bandana on and concealing my long hair. I checked in the floor length mirror I shared with Nami and checked out my new appearance, making sure the bandages from my injuries successfully concealed my average bust. My light red-orange hair was successfully tucked up into the bandana, and only my bangs poked out slightly.

_Not unusual, and the bandages plus the scar make me look less feminine. Even though I only have a big bandage on my right cheek, and above my left eye. _The red t-shirt looked good enough underneath my white hoodie, and the ripped jeans just added to the "delinquent teenager" effect.

**Why're you makin' yourself look like a boy?**

_Because, I don't want to lose all the respect that I have for Sanji's chivalry if he fawns over me like a puppy and a bone...Which is a pretty accurate metaphor._

**Oh. So what happens if the crew tells him you're a girl?  
**_I'll ride this train as long as I can, no farther. Though, I will ask them all separately to not tell him I am in fact, not a boy._

**Whatever floats your boat Boss!~**

After hearing the conversation outside die down, I individually pulled aside my crewmates and even Johnny (Yosaku was still resting,) and asked them to not tell. They looked confused at my get-up at first, but accepted it with little more than a shrug or a muttering of "weird fashions these days". Pleased that I would not lose any and all respect for my future nakama, I retreated to my bed and promptly fell asleep.

* * *

**Ah geez, I couldn't find a better place to stop. XD Sorry it took me so long to update! I just bought Rune Factory 4 for the 3DS, and I LOVE it! It's like...A really fun, violent version of Harvest Moon :D**

**What more could I ask for from a game? Anyways! Next Chapter we finally meet the chivalrous cook himself, Captain Fullbod-*Sanji kick out the door* I mean, Sanji!**

...**Holy cow what the heck is Sanji's last name?! If you know please tell me. O_O**

**Please review and tell me how I'm doing!~ Have a nice uh...time-before-the-next-update-because-I-don't-have-a-schedule!**

**Ciaossu~! (That was Puuya btw, he just raided my fridge of carrots so I need to go make a new rabbit skin rug!) (P.S. What did you guys think of the song?~)**

**Shout-Out To My Followers!:**

**Story: Falling (in)to Pieces, is on the story alert list of following users**

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**Here is your virtual cookie, and a carrot from Puuya-chan! (::) ==F (that's a carrot)**


	8. Messing with the Minds of Men!

**Yo~! Sorry I took so long! I injured my finger so now it won't bend...It'll be fixed in two days at least. So that's why it took so long...Sorry D:**

**Shout-out to my new followers and favorites down below! I love you all! :D**

**Please R+R and enjoy~!**

* * *

**(Eve's P.O.V.)**

"Whoa! What a huge fish!"

"Wow!"

"It's so funky!"**  
**

"AHAHAHAHAHA THAT'S THE GOOFIEST SHIP I'VE EVER SEEN!" The Baratie looked goofy in the anime, but seeing it floating there a few meters away just seemed to be the icing on the hilarious cake. Tears streamed from my eyes and I gripped my sides as I rolled across the deck, laughing until it hurt.

Zoro nudged me in the ribs with his foot, jolting me out of my hysterics. "Oi, quit it. The Marines are here."

I sat up, wiping tears of mirth from the edges of my eyes with the back of a hand, still chuckling softly to myself. _It must've struck a chord or something, because those fish eyes were HUGE! Ahahahaha…!_

I watched as Fullbody came out and taunted Johnny and Yosaku for being "captured" by pirates. After taking the bait and getting pounded into the ground, Fullbody proceeded to "warn" us that the next time we'd meet, our lives would be forfeit. I only smiled creepily at him through half-lidded eyes as he turned around to order his cannons to fire on us.

Usopp started freaking out and shouting loudly. I tuned him out and I got to my feet, yawning with half-lidded eyes as I walked over to Luffy where he was preparing to rebound the cannonball. I watched with an amused smirk on my face as Luffy slipped and the cannonball exploded on the Baratie. I whistled appreciatively at the shock and/or stunned expressions on their faces while I admired the smoke curling off the building. "Nice aim Captain, give it a few more centuries and you might be half as good as Usopp!" Luffy fell backwards off the railing in shock while everyone else choked on air.

I sighed softly, chuckling under my breath as I saw the rowboat paddle furiously over from the Baratie to claim our Captain. I picked him up onto his feet and dusted off his shoulders as I said, "Don't worry Luf, I'm sure you'll only have to work here a month or two." I felt him stiffen in despair.

"A-a month! But we need to get a chef and go to the Grand Line nooooowww~!" Luffy continued to spout several obnoxious protests as we loyally gave him up to Patty and Carne. I chuckled at his expression and slouched against the mast, filling my lungs with the fresh and beautiful ocean air as I started to doze.

* * *

**Someone inside Fullbody's Ship…**

The man casually strolled through the hallways as if he owned the ship, a certain prisoner's cell key clinking cheerfully on his left hand's index finger as he spun it in circles carelessly. He was whistling a cheery tune that echoed off the thin walls of the ship as he headed to the brig.

_Look ahead, look-astern, _

_Look the weather in the lee!~_

His feet walked with the rhythm of the song, passing by empty cells as he headed towards the end of the hall.

_Blow high! Blow low! And so sailed we._

_I see a wreck to windward~ And a lofty ship to lee!_

_A-sailing down along,_

_The coast of High Barbary~._

His feet smoothly stopped and silence ensued as he looked into the last cell with a grin on his face that did not reach his eyes. Two eyes opened in an untrusting glare trying to pierce the stranger who merely continued whistling the tune softly as he unlocked the cell.

_We'll back up our topsails_

_And heave vessel to.~_

_Blow high! Blow low! And so sailed we.~_

_For we have got some letters,_

_To be carried home by you.~_

_A-sailing down along,_

_The coast of High Barbary~._

* * *

**(Eve's P.O.V.)**

After a short, five minute nap and a few minutes of waiting, I sighed and got to my feet, stretching my arms above my head as I walked into the women's quarters. I gained a few questioning looks but I ignored them with practiced ease as I packed up everything I had into my backpack and took two bottles of water from the kitchen. I walked out and nudged Zoro's knee with a foot, jabbing a thumb over my shoulder towards the Baratie.

"Yo, I'mma go in there a bit early, wait a bit and then come in when you'd like. I've got some stuff I wanna scout out."

He opened an eye and looked at me questioningly, before grunting what I took to be his assent. I stepped onto the wooden boards of the Baratie's front deck just as Gin disappeared inside the doors. I winced when I heard the gunshot ring out and I silently mouthed a prayer for the dead marines as I skirted his body.

When I walked in, everyone's attention was on Gin and Patty as they argued, and only Zeff seemed to notice me for half a second before reverting his attention back to Gin as he pointed a gun at Patty's head. I slowly started making my way around the room, skirting the edges of the customers as they cheered Patty on after he slammed Gin into the table, breaking it in the process.

Patty crossed his arms in satisfaction. "If you can't pay the bill, then you ain't no customer!"

Gin was on the floor, trying to shakily get up as his stomach screamed with hunger rather painfully.

Patty grinned down at Gin's beaten-up form and said tauntingly, "Oh? Is that your stomach rumbling?"

Gin just grinned spitefully up at him, a glare evident in his eyes as blood dripping from the sides of his mouth. "That was just...me farting you moron...So hurry up...and bring me some food."

Patty snapped and yelled, "If you're not a paying customer, then get the heck out of here!" His foot sped towards Gin's ribs as I finally rushed forward and blocked it with my own, "tsking" in annoyance.

"Hey, hey, keep your feet to yourself, we was jus' leavin' aight?" I said, giving myself a slightly deeper voice and a corny Brooklyn accent. _But they wouldn't know Brooklyn, because I am amazing! HAHA!_ _Aah...Man I wish Puuya wasn't sleeping right now. _

**Your wish is my comma-**

_GO BACK TO SLEEP! I NEED TO FOCUS!_

**...Meanie…**

"Wh-what do you think you're doing?!" Patty spluttered, shocked I had intervened. I ignored him as I pulled one of Gin's arms over my shoulders, walking out the back and giving Sanji a pointed look. I felt hot, labored breath on my left ear as Gin hissed something to me.

"_What the heck do you think you're doing?!_"

I grinned as I kicked the door shut behind us and we hobbled over to the railing where I kneeled and let him slide off my shoulders. His back fell against the wooden railing with a coarse "thump".

I slid my backpack off and it hit the wooden planks before I unzipped the largest pocket. "Here, drink up." I said, tossing him one of the water bottles from my backpack. He hesitated, looking at the water with an untrusting glare. I chuckled quietly, pulling the other bottle from my backpack, opening it and taking a sip before rolling it across the deck to him. "It's safe, go a'ead, I can see you drooling from over 'ere."

No sooner had the words left my mouth than Gin had scooped up the bottle, starting to guzzle it. I sat on some crates a few feet away as the back door opened and Sanji came out, the crates behind the door and obscuring me from his sight momentarily. Sanji turned his head left to right, looking confused for a moment before shutting the door and walking over to Gin who had already finished one bottle and was reaching for the other.

"Eat." He said simply, setting the plate down next to Gin as he sat a little ways away. Gin dove for it like a hungry animal. Which he was. Tears started cascading down his face once the heavenly taste hit him.

"I don't know what to say…! I-I've never had such delicious food...in my entire life! I'm so grateful…! I thought..I thought I was going to die…! I thought it was all over for me..!" He choked out between bites.

Sanji smirked, his cigarette in his mouth as he said, "It's darn good right?"

I still sat there, unnoticed in the shadow of the roof as I peeked up at Luffy who grinned down at Sanji and Gin. I inwardly smiled to myself, resting my chin on my hands as I watched the proceedings.

"Lucky! You got some food!" Luffy called, his jaw-breaking grin amazing me yet again. Sanji and Gin looked up, noticing him for the first time. "You were almost about to die before too! Hahaha!" He laughed, before continuing. "Hey cook! Join my crew will ya?! Be the cook for my pirate ship!"

…

"Huh?!" Gin and Sanji both said in sync.

I tuned out their conversation for a while, until Gin told Luffy to give up on going to the Grand Line, _that_ got my attention as I sat a little straighter.

"You're still young, no need to rush recklessly into things. Besides, the Grand Line is just one part of all the oceans in this world. If you want to be a pirate, there's plenty of other seas for you to roam out there."

Luffy was sitting on the railing a little bit behind Gin as he said, "Oh...Do you happen to know something about the Grand Line?"

Gin held his head in his hands despairingly, sweating bullets as he remembered his living nightmare. "No..! I don't...I don't know anything...That's why it's so terrifying..!"

Sanji released a stream of smoke from his lips. "For a member of the Krieg pirates, you sure are acting like a scaredy cat."

I inwardly snorted, _he has no idea what Gin's been through. Or what he's about to go through._

I realized I had zoned out for a moment, lost in my thoughts until I saw Gin on the little boat Sanji gave him.

"And Sanji, thank you so much for the food. You're my saviour, that meal was really the best I've ever had. Though I wonder where that guy who helped me went...Is it okay if I come here to eat again?" He smiled, genuinely smiled.

I smiled behind my hands, _disguise success!_

Sanji smiled down at him behind his cigarette. "Sure, anytime."

"HEY! ERRAND-BOY! SO THAT'S WHERE YOU ARE!" Zeff had found us, and he saw the empty dishes Gin had eaten off of.

I watched as Sanji told Gin to go before throwing the dishes off the railing and into the ocean, disposing the evidence. _He'd make a terrible detective. Haha~!_

"How can I be scolded, if there's no evidence?" He mused, watching as Gin bowed to Sanji in gratefulness. "Don't you get caught again Gin!"

I chuckled softly, slipping away unnoticed into the back door. I walked into the main room just as the rest of the crew showed up and sat themselves down at a table. "Yo! Minna!" I called, raising a hand in greeting as I sat on Usopp's lap...Which I was promptly shoved off and onto the chair next to him.

"The heck have you been?" Grunted Zoro.

I shrugged, hands in the pockets of my hoodie. "Around, here and there. Looks like Luffy has to be an errand boy for a year." I laughed along with them. Even Nami was giggling. "Speak of the devil," I said, pointing to Luffy who was walking over to take our order. Usopp was grinning along with the rest of us.

"Ack! It's you guys!"

"Hey errand boy!" Nami called, smiling and waving him over.

Usopp sneered at him, a wide smile on his face as he choked down his earlier laughter. "Heard you have to work here for a year."

Zoro took up the baton, "Would it be alright to redraw the ship's flag?"

I snorted, leaning back in my chair with my arms crossed over my chest, watching them with a smile. I cringed and looked away when Zoro forced Luffy to eat the booger-water. I shivered inwardly, gagging. _Ew…_

"_**O'Blessed are for bringing me this fine day! O'Love! Laugh if you will, at my poor self who cannot endure his tortuous passions!"**_ Sanji exploded into hearts and I visibly cringed, no longer able to hold it back. _Are you kidding me?! _He continued his love-rant as he noodle-danced around Nami, arms spread wide in declaration.

"_**As long as I can be with you, I'm prepared to walk across any path, be it the paths of a pirate or a devil!"**_ His eyes...were _hearts._

I deadpanned, suddenly very thankful of my foresight. _Dear Kami what has Oda done…_

"_**But alas! 'Tis tragic there is such a great obstacle standing between the two of us!"**_

"By obstacle, do you mean me Sanji?" Zeff had come up behind Sanji and was leaning against a chair. But I didn't care as I zoned out, lost in my thoughts as I prepared for what I knew was to come. I didn't get very far before I was jarred from my thoughts when Usopp started fighting with Sanji.

"I already gave you some tea! You could at least say a word of thanks for that, punk!"

"Thank you." I cut in, to no effect for it went unnoticed. I shrugged to Zoro, who was enjoying his own tea.

"Wha'?! You wanna start something is that it?! I ain't gonna go easy on you! Get'im Zoro!-"

"Get him yourself!" Zoro sweatdropped, ignoring Usopp as Nami enjoyed her fruit Macedonia that Sanji had given her.

Usopp took it in stride, pointing at his almost-empty plate. "You haven't even cleared our plates yet!"

"But you still have mushrooms left! Finish it!" He shot back smoothly, still smoking.

Usopp got in Sanji's face, his nose bending. "I left them on purpose because I hate mushrooms. I was poisoned by one when I was a kid."

Sanji wasn't intimidated. "Well this one ain't poisoned so eat up long-nose!"

I sighed, resisting the urge to rub my forehead because of the bandages. _Their grammar is killing me...I think I'm wilting..Urgh…_

Zoro noticed and tuned the others out as he poked me in the ribs with a finger. "Hey, you alright?"

I nodded, chewing my bottom lip habitually. "Yeah...I'm fine. Something's been nagging me though."

Zoro waited for me to elaborate, I looked down into my almost empty tea glass, swishing the last gulp around in the cup.

"Well," I said, lowering my voice so only Zoro could hear. "If I don't want to be treated like _that,"_ I discreetly pointed to Sanji fawning over Nami again, ignoring Zoro's muttering of "witch". "Then what am I gonna do when that cook joins and finds out about...me?"

Zoro raised an eyebrow, before sighing. "That cook's joining huh? Geez that explains your new fashion sense.. I don't know the answer yet, Eve. This isn't something easily taken care of." I wilted even more. "But," he continued, grinning from behind his cup. "Just remember that you're not alone. I won't let him do anything to you, alright Eve?" I smiled slightly at that, straightening to look him in the eyes.

"Alright." I nodded, before something suddenly occurred to me as Sanji dragged Luffy away to work. "Oh, I guess my name should be Evan now, hmm?"

Zoro chuckled, before shrugging. "If you're really going through with this crazy and desperate plan of yours, then yes."

I chuckled as well, downing the last of my tea.

* * *

**On the Merry-Go, Eve-I mean, Evan's P.O.V.**

I sat in the women's quarters, savoring every moment I could steal in there as I realized I would have to bunk with the men in order to hold up my front. I shivered, severely re-thinking my decision before shaking my head in determination. _No! You need to stop giving up right now! Besides, it's not like I have to change in front of them! I just have to sleep in the same room is all. It'll be fine, Zoro said he'll help so..so I can make this work! I will! I CAN DO THIS!_

**Yay Boss! Pep-talk! Pep-talk! Peppppppp!  
**_Oh. You're awake. What's it like when you sleep?  
_**When I sle- Oh! Yeah that. Well first I go to sleep..and then I dream...and then I recharge my energy~!**

_Oh. That's..boring. I'm going to go think of fun things now, so stay out of my head._

**But Boss~ We're connected! I cannnnnn't~**

_Please STOP WHINING! If you really can't leave my head then you should already know how much I hate it when people whine or grovel._

**Yes Boss.**

_..Sorry I'm just sort of stressed out right now. I didn't mean to be so short, your voice just makes my head ring sometimes. It's distracting._

**Do you want me to be quiet?**

_No, no it's okay. Actually, I was wondering if you could tell me the more specific details of my blades? And how many Upgrade Points I have?_

**Sure thing~! So, you "bought" a pair of hidden blades level one that can appear whenever you will them to, so long as you're not touching kairoseki etc. **

_I know all of this already, Puuya._

**Right, well. Currently their durability is that of poor quality cheap iron that any old joe could buy. So...They'll break soon if you don't upgrade.**

_How many points do I have right now?_

**Well in your last battle you collected 25 UP from beating Jango, 5 UP for all the damage you did to him, 10 UP for taking out a lot of the underlings, and 10 special willpower UP.**

_Willpower?_

**Yeah! Your willpower skills leveled up! **

_Wait, skills? You mean like in a video game? Are you kidding me right now? I have a skill-box that I didn't know about?!_

**I..Um, forgot to mention it..?**

_Guarr…..ggh! Fine..whatever. Let me see it on my glove-screen._

**Right away Boss!**

I materialized my gloves and looked at my right hand above the wrist. The screen flickered on and the screen started moving itself until the right app was on the screen. I tapped it, sliding down the wall to sit on the ground by my old hammock.

**Physical Stats:**

**VIT- 50**

**STR- 5**

**AGL- 5**

**SPD- 5**

**INT- 5**

**DXT- 5**

_I...have...NOOB STATS ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! QUICKLY! SHOW ME THE POINTS I CAN SPEND!_

**W-Well these points would be PSP's so you have...Oh! Quite a lot! Let's see...You have 50 PSP's!~**

I quickly divided the points as best I could, sighing in relief when I felt a lot less nooby. _That was close...I think I almost lost it for a second there._

**Physical Stats:**

**VIT- 60  
STR- 15  
AGL- 15  
SPD- 15  
INT- 14 **_(I'm already slightly narcissistic I don't think I need to worry too much about how smart I am.)_**  
DXT- 15**

I stretched my arms for a second, feeling refreshed from the upgrade, new techniques for my blades in mind.

_Wow! That felt..good! Thanks Puuya!~_

**You have the emotional stability of a yo-yo!**

_I know right?! I'm amazing.~_

**And a lost cause!~**

_And Sanji thinks I'm a boy!_

I chuckled quietly to myself, the others just now getting back on the boat after eating. I looked at my gloved hands, turning them this way and that as I smiled.

_Another day in the neighborhood with Sanji~ I'm gonna play with his mind to-day~_

* * *

**Awkward ending, yes, I know...BLEGH! But I have a bad finger so blehehehehehe to you!**

**Anyways~ Shout-out to my new followers/favorites!**

**FallTigerKisa, Magic126, Rina Dragonfly, Skipper917 (thanks for your review, here's an extra cookie!), Waltzing Shadow (Love your name, it made me JELLY), Asuka27852, XxHeartMenderxX, and kage kitsune 14!**

**Thank you all :D I love you~ You people are like... 60-75% of my motivation, right there. :D **

**I don't have a schedule yet, but I'll try to work on it.**

**Anyways, have a good week and here's chapter 8! :3 Ciaossu~**


	9. Marked by Knowledge!

**Hey Minna!~ I'm back!~ I'm in a rush, so I promise I'll properly acknowledge and thank all my new reviewers, readers, followers, and ****favorites next chapter or ASAP! Thank you all for waiting! X3 Without further ado, chapter nine!**

* * *

**The Baratie**

**(Evan's P.O.V.)**

I walked into the Baratie just as Sanji kicked Patty out of the way so he could give food to Don Krieg. _Oh. So it's already that time hmm?_

"**That time"? **Puuya asked.

_Yeah, time to catch Sanji._

**Huh?!**

Back in my world, I had made sure I memorized minute details throughout One Piece after I discovered in the hopes that I would one day get to change some of them. One minute detailed I had memorized, is where Krieg would knock Sanji so I would be able to catch him.

With my hands in my jeans' pockets I casually strolled over next to Luffy who didn't acknowledge me as his eyes were trained on the Don. Watching carefully as Krieg slowed his eating, almost done, I braced my legs and quickly cracked my fingers. I grit my teeth grimly as Krieg clotheslined Sanji with his forearm, sending him tumbling forward...Right into me. My legs skidded back a few feet before giving out, I fell to my knees behind a winded Sanji. I inwardly shrugged at my semi-success.

_Oh well, it could have been worse._

Sanji looked up at me and his eye widened slightly. "Hey, you're that guy who helped Gin earlier!"

I nodded, a smug smirk on my face as I helped him up, dusting myself off in the process.

"Yep, 'name's Evan, and I'm on the crew of the future King of the Pirates." I announced proudly, maintaining my slightly lower voice and outlandish (terrible,) Brooklyn accent.

Krieg looked confused for a second, glaring at me through narrowed eyes.

"You're not on my crew, who are you?"

I scoffed, glaring at him with my bangs shadowing my left eye in what I hoped was an intimidating glare. "I'm not talking about _your_ crew **'Dumb Krieg',**" Sanji smirked at my new twist on his title. I smirked and pointed to Luffy unwaveringly as I continued. "I'm talking about _**his.**_"

The ensuing second of silence was broken almost immediately by panicking chefs and customers as they shrieked at me in fear.

"ARE YOU INSANE?!"

"THAT GUY'S GOING TO GET US ALL KILLED!"

"WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!"

Luffy grinned at me and my glare softened for a moment as I nodded to him, still smirking, before returning my glare in full force at Krieg...Then I noticed Krieg had thrown Gin on the ground and I felt my blood boil and I had to dig my fingernails into my skin to stop myself from attacking. Krieg glared at me coldly, before a dark grin took over his face as he straightened.

"Nice restaurant you've got here, I'll take it."

The civilians rushed out the back onto their ships just as Patty started coming to.

"Don Krieg! What about your promise…!" Gin cried out, still holding his shoulder on the floor by his feet.

"Hey Gin are you alright?!" Luffy shouted, fists clenched in anger.

Patty suddenly realized he was right in front of Don Krieg and scrambled backwards with a shout of surprise.

Krieg continued, unfazed in the slightest. "My ship's all worn out, so I've been wanting a new one. Once my business is done with you, I'll have you get off this ship…"

_Over my dead body._

"Right now I have around a hundred subordinates on my ship, and they're all starving and critically wounded. So prepare enough water and food to feed all one-hundred men of mine."

As he talked I slowly slid closer to Luffy until our shoulders touched, easing my pent-up nerves.

"..There are a few who've already starved to death, so make it quick!"

Carne, a chef, was outraged.

"You're asking us to willingly feed a hundred pirates, knowing that they're going to attack us and steal our ship later?! WE REFUSE!" He exclaimed.

If Don Krieg was surprised, he didn't show it. "Refuse…? Seems like we have a little misunderstanding on our hands. I wasn't asking whether or not you'd do it…" He sent a blood-chilling glare at us and if I hadn't been shoulder-to-shoulder with Luffy I wouldn't have been able to stifle my shiver. "**I'm ordering you, and no one refuses my orders!"** He wasn't grinning anymore.

All the cooks were greatly intimidated, (not including Sanji and Zeff.) Gin was despairing. "Sanji..I'm sorry..! I never intended things to turn out this way..!"

Patty started blaming Sanji before he realized Sanji was walking off towards the kitchen.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?!" He shouted, furious at Sanji for not even hesitating.

I spaced out for a brief moment as I realized, _If I'm so intimidated by Krieg's glare...How am I not going to be paralyzed in terror by just seeing Mihawk, let alone his eyes?! He always looks like he's glaring!_

**Boss-sama! You need to focus!~ Sanji's going to get hurt again if you're not ready~!**

I jolted suddenly as my body moved before my mind gave it orders to. Time seemed to slow as I saw Patty lunge forward at Sanji, at the same time as me. I tackled Patty right before his fists would have come down on the back of Sanji's head. We rolled a bit and I tsked, pinned underneath Patty as he held down my arms with his knees.

"Who the heck are you?! Why do you keep coming back here?!" Patty glowered at me, adding more pressure to my arms and I bit back a wince, stubbornly ignoring him as if he wasn't there. My eye's met Luffy's and I subtly twitched my head 'no'. He understood, I didn't want him to interfere.

Without releasing me, Patty shouted to the other chefs as Carne ended up knocking Sanji to the ground from behind him instead of Patty. "Hold him down!" Shifting so he was sitting his whole body on my chest, he faced Sanji as he was restrained by the other chefs who he could easily knock off. "Sanji! I know you feed the customers I chase out from time to time, and I'm not going to say who was right and who was wrong for all those times…" Carne had brought out something wrapped in a white cloth and set it next to Patty. I kept my face set as stone as my ribs started shaking from the effort of not collapsing. Patty stood up and put a hand on the cloth-covered-mystery cylinder. Before I had the chance to even twitch, Carne had replaced Patty by sitting on me as well. I was silently screaming in frustration and agony.

My hearing kind of faded in and out, as well as the lights because my body wasn't getting enough oxygen. However, I just gritted my teeth and tried to not let my face turn red. It wasn't working. I watched as Patty uncovered the mystery-cylinder and it turned out to be a ridiculous shrimp-gun served with a side of a bad one-liner.

Patty cocked the (tail..?) of the shrimp and aimed at Krieg, shouting, "If you're finished with your meal, how about having... AN IRON DESSERT?! **Indigestion Meatball Cannon**!"

"La-ha-a-ha-ha-hammmeeee…" I moaned, starting to see black. I'd had enough. While Carne was waiting with bated breath for the smoke from the shot to disperse, my gloves appeared and I socked him where it hurts the most.

"**Meatball Masher~!**" I chuckled, easily shoving him off of me now and making every man in the room, (excluding Luffy,) flinch in sympathy.

"..How can you not even flinch..?" A chef mumbled while I chuckled darkly, dusting myself off and casually sitting at a table across the room, regaining my much-needed air.

Patty made a noise of mild annoyance as he saw the burnt and smoking entrance.

"Agh, dang it I ended up destroying the entrance…The owner's gonna have my head for this…"

"It's fine, it's just...collateral damage from protecting the restaurant.." Carne squeaked, his voice an octave higher than usual and with another chef supporting him.

Sanji looked unimpressed as he asked coolly, "What're you planning to do with his underlings on the ship?"

Patty gave him a devious grin, turning to him slightly. "Well...Maybe we oughta butter his ship and roast it with fire…?"

I didn't say anything as I teetered in my chair, arms crossed over my chest and my hands bare once more. I was still as Krieg got up and taunted the chefs, not even scratched in the slightest. I didn't turn away or close my eyes as the chefs charged him, as guns suddenly appeared in his golden armor that was hidden under his cape before. I watched as he gunned them down, injuring many, though I doubt anyone died as they clutched their wounds. My eyes travelled to Gin and they softened as I saw him gripping his head in agony.

_He's fighting himself, he doesn't know what he should fight for anymore…_

…

_What do I fight for?_

**Food?~ Carrots?~**

_No… I … Hmm… Oh, Krieg's shouting again. Man, he's loud, but my family back home was louder. Hahahha, noob thinks just 'cause he has an army he's the next big thing._

**What's a noob Boss-san?~**

_It's-_ I stopped my thoughts and watched as Zeff placed a huge bag of food down in front of Krieg. I felt a trickle of warm respect for the old man blossom in my chest and I suppressed a small smile from sprouting on my face. _Man… Zeff is the coolest old man in East Blue!_

I watched as Krieg started fanboying over Zeff, saying he was the "Peerless Captain and Cook of his own pirate crew."

I coughed "subtly" into my hand and it strangely sounded like "Fanboy.."

But of course, I, being myself, was ignored entirely.

"So what if I'm alive?" Zeff said, defiantly staring Krieg down, like a teacher would a bully caught in the act. "It's got nothing to do with you. As you can see, I'm living as a mere cook now." He said in that gruff old-man voice of his. Part of me wondered if the reason his hat was so tall was because it grew as he aged. I promptly set that part on fire and returned my attention to the steadily progressing conversation that I had almost no interest in.

I stuck a pinky in my ear to try to clean out all the fanboy germs that I was hearing.

_Fanboy fanboy fanboy, fan fan fanboy, fanboy fanboy. FANBOY, fanboy fanboy._ Was all I heard coming from Krieg's mouth.

"Cool! You've been to the Grand Line, Old Man?" Luffy grinned, talking to Zeff as he confirmed it.

Zeff returned his attention back to Krieg, saying his words slowly so Dumb Krieg would understand them. "You are certainly correct to assume that I kept a log, and I indeed have it to this day...But I shan't hand that over to you. That log is the pride of me and my men who bravely ventured Grand Line together. It's much too valuable to give over to the likes of you!" He said, his face and words portraying his total confidence.

**Now who's the fanboy?~**

_Pfft, not me. I'm a girl, remember?_

"Then I'll just steal it from you!" Krieg gained a determined look of his own, much to my grim amusement. I smirked as he continued to rant, my blood boiling underneath my calm exterior as I rested my chin on my hand, propping myself on the table I was sitting at.

"It's true that I came back defeated from the Grand Line…! But even so, I'm still the mighty Don Krieg! That ocean shrouded by darkness, the mention of which alone causes weak men to tremble in their boots…! **I had enough power to conquer that sea!** Enough manpower! Enough ambition! The only thing I lacked was information! That was my only flaw! I simply did not know enough...Which is why I'll steal your travel log and this ship!" His declaration was met with loud shouts of defiance from the cooks.

"_**SILENCE!**_" I could feel Puuya trembling in fear and my temper flared as I watched the cocky mustard cow the chefs into silence. "The difference in strength between you and I is as clear as night and day! I even proved it to you just now! Don't you dare forget that I'm the strongest!"

I resisted the urge to fake narcolepsy just to spite him. I couldn't wait for Luffy to beat the ever-loving crud out of this guy.

Loudy-Mc-Whinestein (Krieg) was shouting now. "Once I obtain Zeff's travel log, I'll reassemble my pirate fleet and find One Piece to become the greatest pirate of this era!" He declared, as Luffy stepped forward, a finger pointed at Krieg and a hand on his hip. He was still in the ridiculous errand-boy apron.

"Hold it right there! The one who'll become Pirate King is me." The chefs went ballistic in shock, of course. Patty tried to help in his own pointless way.

"H-Hey, stand down kid! Or you're going to get killed!"

Luffy just grinned confidently as he dashed Patty's small hopes for his survival.

"I'm not standing down, especially on this point!"

I grinned, barely suppressing a chuckle as I watched with amusement in my eyes. I casually waved Zoro and Usopp over to my table as the conversation continued.

"Did you say something little brat? I'll be nice enough to let your comment just now slide."

"It's fine. You don't have to let it slide. I was only stating the truth."

**"This ain't a game."**

"Of course." Luffy was still grinning determinedly.

Then Usopp had to go and be Usopp and say cowardly things, effectively drawing the attention of everyone in the room to us as Zoro told him to shut up.

"Hey, Luffy." Zoro said, grinning at his Captain from his seat next to me, thumbing his swords. "You planning to rumble? Need a hand?"

"Oh hey Zoro, Usopp, Evan. No it's fine, you can just stay sitting down."

Dumb Krieg started laughing at us, apparently he found us amusing.

_I want to show him how amusing my fists are._

"AHAHAHAHA! THOSE ARE YOUR CREWMATES? A RATHER SMALL BUNCH AREN'T THEY?!"

_Man, is he even human? I think his jaw unhinged…_

Luffy obviously didn't get it. "What're you talking about? We've got two others as well!"

Sanji sweatdropped behind him. "...You just counted me in didn't you?.."

"**Don't joke with me, punk! Even my fleet of fifty ships and 5000 pirates were utterly decimated by that devilish sea in just seven days only because we lacked information!"**

I thought about my words, as a small part of me planned all the ways I could fling Krieg out of the restaurant without Gin rushing to his rescue. I stayed silent as the cooks (and Usopp,) flipped out. Dumb Krieg continued yet another of his rants.

"Even as a bluff, your comments just now show how ignorant you are to reality! If there's one thing I hate it's-"

*_Snap* Ahhh...There goes my temper!~_

"**Empty boasting like yours, you hypocrite." **I stole the words from his mouth. Everyone froze, Zeff's eyes flitted to mine, trying to warn me. "_**You're wrong.**_" My voice echoed out into the now silent room as all eyes were trained on me, sipping casually from a tea glass. Don Krieg turned to me, nostrils flaring and eyes positively murderous. Zeff's eyebrow raised momentarily as if just realizing something.

"**What did you say?" **Krieg growled, veins standing out all over his face and neck as he held back his anger.

I swallowed the tea in my mouth before watching the last remnants of it swirl around in my glass as I spoke. "Luffy doesn't boast, he just tells it how it is. And, lack of knowledge wasn't your only flaw. You messed up. You didn't listen to the nice flower-ossan at the Twin Capes. You didn't keep your eyes and ears open for the tell-tale signs. You were overconfident in your manpower...And you practically tripped over a napping Shichibukai.~" From his expression, you'd think I'd have slapped him and everyone else in the room in the face.

Gin was dumbfounded as everyone stared at me. "H-How did you…?"

Suddenly Krieg was towering over me, interest blazing in his eyes as he held me off the floor by the front of my shirt. Luffy stiffened, ready to rush over if Krieg even breathed wrong. Zoro's hands were on his swords and Usopp was trying to not wet himself as he shook in his chair.

"...How much do you know about the Grand Line?" He said at last, his eyes holding mine in place as I tried to not sweat bullets.

I pasted a confident smirk on my face as I focused on the pain in my hands as my nails drew blood. I made sure my voice wouldn't betray me as I spoke. "I know everything my Captain needs to, and more. Of course, you'd have to kill me before I'd leave Luffy's crew." I said, practically reading his mind. He wanted the knowledge in my head, I could see the hunger for it in his eyes.

The room was silent for several tense seconds, before I was roughly dropped back into my chair, almost falling backwards onto the ground.

"It seems you know a lot of impossible things…" He muttered, (growled) in his deep voice. He walked back to the bag of food and directed his words to Luffy.

"Keep saying stuff like that and I'll kill you right on the spot once I get back from unloading this bag of food!"

He picked up the bag and turned to the door as he continued. "As for the rest of you...I'll give you a little extension. I'm going to go give this food to my subordinates, and then return back here. I'd suggest you leave this place within that time if you don't want to die. The only things that better be waiting for me when I return are Zeff's travel log, this ship, and that guy."

He said, nodding towards me with a cocky, dark grin.

…

I think Usopp just fainted.


	10. A Nakama's Path!

**Aaahhh Yay! So much reviewer love! Thanks so much! :D I really love hearing about all of your opinions and such~! Please R&R, You know I love it when you do~. **

**Oh! And I'm setting up a poll on my profile to see what you all think about Eve as a character so far. Because honestly? I can't form an opinion on the spontaneity that is Eve/Evan. XD Hahaha.**

**Also, I'm going to put a pairing poll up that I may or may not consider the results. I'm not putting Luffy on the poll because I can't picture Eve with him. XD Hahaa. Well, enjoy chapter ten, Minna!**

* * *

**(Evan's P.O.V.)**

I sighed, digging the heels of my hands into my eyes in frustration.

"Well that could have gone worse." I commented wryly, causing Usopp to jolt awake and start throttling me.

"WORSE?! HOW COULD IT HAVE BEEN WORSE?! DON KRIEG WANTS TO TAKE YOU!"

I kept my expression blank as I pulled Usopp's hands off of the front of my shirt, staring into his eyes in all seriousness. My voice was void of emotion as I smoothly pushed him back into his seat, my hands on his shoulders.

"Krieg could have knocked Luffy into the water and Gin could have pinned Zoro long enough for Krieg to threaten to shoot you when you would try to go save Luffy. Then I would have had to go with him willingly or you and Luffy would be dead."

Usopp shut up, slowly falling into the fetal position, rocking back and forth while murmuring something about "scary psychic witches".

Luffy came over and sat on our table, leaning forward to ruffle my hair, knocking my bandana askew on accident. He was frowning, a grumpy, almost angry, frown. "Don't worry Evan, I won't let Krieg take you." Finally he grinned his determined grin, figuring out his simple plan as he pounded his fist into his palm. "Yosh! I'll kick that Krieg's ass! No one threatens my nakama!"

I grinned back at him, giving him a high-five. "Hai Captain! I know you'll do it!" We snickered, earning a smirk from Zoro as the crew shared the little joke.

However, the small warmth our group had created faded quickly when Gin expressed his remorse for Krieg's actions. He apologized to Sanji, saying he didn't want any of this to happen. He then proceeded to repeat basically everything I had revealed earlier...much more dramatically. I immediately zoned out, already bored with the conversation. (No offense to Gin's dead comrades, but we're supposed to be enemies anyways and it'd be weird if I pretended to care in my opinion.)

I inwardly sighed, _Looks like my influence on the plot isn't as great as I had hoped._

**That's because you aren't careful enough, Boss~**

I sat a little straighter, a frown slowly creeping onto my face, not going unnoticed by Luffy.

_What? What do you mean? What wasn't I careful with?_

Puuya sweatdropped, an ironic smile on his face.

**You mean besides openly giving Krieg a psychological beat-down? You claim to be able to see the future even though you can't be certain of the results of **_**your**_** actions, Baka-Boss!**

_Well you say it like it's possible to actually become psychic! Puuya I'm doing the best with what I hav-_

**No you aren't! That's what I'm trying to say! You need to use common sense! You're forgetting that you're not watching this happen on a screen Eve! If you aren't careful, you can and will die and the plot will continue on with or without you.**

_...I'm well aware of this..But it is as you say..I'll be more careful next time...Um..Thanks.._

**Sure thing Boss.**

I continued to ignore the chefs as they yelled at Sanji, though I smirked slightly when Zeff yelled at them. The corners of my mouth tugged up into a full-blown grin when Sanji had his little epic moment himself. Before I mentally smacked myself in the face before it could turn red.

**Something wrong Boss? You don't look so good..**

I pretended to adjust my bandana as I subtly forced down the blush trying to take over my cheeks.

_...Freakin' Bish_ōnens…

**Hahahahahaha~!**

"Hey what do you think about him? Pretty good right?" Luffy said excitedly, pointing at Sanji. Usopp was up and panicking, wanting nothing more than to bolt from the vicinity as fast as he could.

"_**Who cares about him, if we don't get out of here soon…!"**_

Zoro placed his hand on the table to get Usopp's attention.

"Calm down, our enemies are wounded pirates."

Luffy had his mind-set grin on his face, arms crossed decidedly over his chest as he sat on our table. "That's right. And besides, I have to fight with that guy. If he truly is strong, then he and i are going to butt heads eventually anyways!" His face lit up in realization as he remembered something. "Oh that's right, Gin." He said, getting his attention. "You said you didn't know anything about the Grand Line. But didn't you guys go there?"

Gin grasped his head with his hands desperately, sweating madly as he relived the nightmare he was put through. "I just don't know if those seven days we spent in the Grand Line were real or a nightmare…! I'm still wrestling with it in my mind…"

I had to strongly resist the feminine urge to go over and comfort him as he continued recounting his "real nightmare."

"...He just appeared all of a sudden...To think that all fifty ships of the Krieg pirate fleet were destroyed by a single man…!"

_**Everyone**_ lost their cool. (Except for me. And to Zeff's credit, he only looked _slightly_ surprised.)

"**WWHHHHAAAAAATTTTT?!"**

Gin was trembling, with rage or fear I didn't know. I did know that at this moment, I could never picture him as a "demon". I just saw him as someone who needed help grasping reality in a world where the line between reality and impossibilities hardly existed.

After a tense moment, Zeff finally spoke.

"That had to be...The work of the hawk-eyed man, without a doubt…"

"H-Hawk-eyed man?!" The room exclaimed as Zeff continued.

"You saying that you witnessed a man, whose glare was as sharp as that of a hawk's doesn't necessarily prove it was him. But the fact that he sunk your entire fleet is more than enough proof it was really him…!"

Usopp and Luffy had no idea who hawk-eye was and me and Zoro shared a look.

It went a little something like this:

_Do you want to tell morons or…?_

_I'll tell the morons._

_Okay._

Zoro cleared it up simply by saying, "He's the man I've been looking for."

"Did he bear some sort of ill grudge against you guys, for him to destroy your entire fleet like that…?" Sanji queried.

"I don't remember anything like that! He just attacked us all of a sudden!"

"You tripped over him, like I said." I muttered, somewhat annoyed people forgot everything I said earlier. _So much wasted breath…_

"But if that's true then why would he attack us?!" Gin protested, obviously confused.

I sighed, giving him a look of regret on my face as it scrunched up. "Because he was bored..He still is bored…" I said the last part quietly, looking down at my feet and the boards underneath them.

"A place where even the abnormal is normal, huh." Zoro commented easily.

Luffy got pumped up, clenching his fists and grinning in excitement. "Hee Hee! That sounds like such a thrill! We definitely gotta go there!"

_Poor Usopp._ "Could you at least try to think of the danger?!" He protested, sweating bullets.

Zoro and Luffy ignored him with practiced ease. "But with this it looks like my own goal is inextricably tied with the Grand Line, considering that 'that man' is there as well!"

Sanji looked thoughtfully at us for a moment, before turning around and bringing his cigarette back up to his mouth. "...Bunch of idiots. You lot are the type to rush to their deaths."

_..Freakin' Bishōnens…!_

_[ Nightcore- "Pound the Alarm" ((Play it until it runs out XD Repeat if necessary for extra awesomeness))]_

"True, but I'd rather you leave out the 'idiot' part." Zoro shot back evenly, confidence written on his face. "Ever since I've decided to become the world's greatest swordsman, I threw away my attachment to life. The only one who has the right to call me an idiot is me alone."

I hummed in agreement, nodding as well. Luffy raised his hand like a schoolboy asking for candy. "Ooh! Me too!"

Usopp crossed his arms with obvious (fake) confidence. "As a real man, the same goes for me too." He was promptly called a liar by Zoro.

"Psh…" Sanji said, frowning behind his cigarette that he held tightly with his teeth. "..What a load of crap…" Zeff only smiled.

"Hey, morons! Haven't you realized the situation we're in right now?! The gigantic galleon that's parked right in front of our restaurant, belongs to the Fleet Admiral Don Krieg! The ship of the strongest pirate in all of East Blue-"

"Patty shut the heck up. The galleon will be gone in two minutes." I said nonchalantly. Zoro looked at me with a scrutinizing gaze.

"How do you know?"

I grinned nervously at him, anxiety clear in my eyes.

"'Cause I can feel him c-coming.. The man you're looking for is coming...And he's bored."

You'd think I'd have said Zoro was a Sea King.

"W..What?!" Zoro choked out, obviously surprised.

I smiled nervously at the shocked faces of everyone (excluding Luffy, he still doesn't understand.) "Yeah…" A shiver traveled down my back involuntarily as my head snapped towards the doors.

_What..Puuya what the heck is this intense pressure..?! Is this..?!_

**It's his h-haki, yes…** He whimpered, I could feel him shaking in fear and I couldn't blame him.

Everyone's eyes slowly followed mine and pinned themselves to the entrance.

A cook called out that he heard the Krieg pirates coming.

I stiffened, jumping to my feet without meaning to.

"GET AWAY FROM THE DOOR!"

A terrible ripping sound was heard and suddenly my "shield layer" was visible, the blast feeling like a cool breeze against my skin. Not that it mattered, considering my jaw was on the floor along with everyone else's.

Zoro jolted as a thought struck him and the rest of our crew. Luffy bolted, jumping off tables as he shot out of the restaurant.

"Crap! Our ship was outside too, with Nami, Yosaku, and Johnny still inside!"

We rushed forward, Usopp shouting in panic. "We might be too late already!"

I stopped at the front of the ship, not bothering to round the corner like the others as I searched the smoke and debris for the small, coffin-shaped ship.

_Puuya can you see anything?_

**To your right a bit, behind that chunk of ship!**

My breath hitched in my throat as the smoke cleared and I found his eyes pinning mine.

_He knew I was looking for him...SUGOI!~!..._

_.._

_Ahem._

His eyes were a hard, stony amber, unwavering as he released my eyes from his hold and cast his bored gaze amongst the wreckage of Krieg's former ship. I released a breath I hadn't realised I had been holding and took a moment to take in his appearance. He was obviously well-built and was clothed in a floral-print black jacket (he somehow pulled it off, he made _floral print look dangerous, ) _that he left unbuttoned. He had a simple pair of blue jeans on and a kogatana around his neck appearing as a golden, cross-shaped pendant. As expected, Mihawk still has his short beard, mustache and sideburns that point upwards.

_Epic. Epic buckle boots. I want those boots._

***Cough* Cough* Fangirl *Cough* Cough***

_MOVING ON!_

A Krieg pirate's nerves snapped. "Dang it! What did we ever do to you! Why the heck do you have to follow us all the way out here!"

Mihawk gave him a withering glance and replied emotionlessly, "Just to kill some time."

The Krieg pirate couldn't stand it and cursed, firing two shots at Mihawk. Mihawk just reached back smoothly and deflected the bullets in one swift movement with Yoru.

"Wha-?! I-It missed?!" I just realized Zoro was behind the Krieg pirate who had freaked out.

_Dang Zoro and his magical teleportation powers..!_

…

_I wish I could teleport…_

**What, are you going to pout now?~**

_Heck no! Even acting as a girl I never pouted! You ridiculous bunny-chan you!_

I watched Zoro challenge Mihawk with a heavy heart, and sadness evident in my eyes as the fogged over with memories. I felt someone walk up on my left side and we stood there in companionable silence.

"It's a double-edged sword isn't it." Zeff said quietly, staring out and watching Zoro and Mihawk.

I resisted the urge to tremble, and I bit back the frustrated tears that wanted to show as I simply swallowed thickly, nodding.

"...Yeah...It ..It really is.." I chewed on my bottom lip, watching them talk, sizing each other up. I tried to swallow past the burning in my throat, caused by frustration as I crossed my arms, digging my nails into my elbows. I wanted to help him, to tell him what would happen so _badly._ But I couldn't, and Zeff and I knew that. So I had to watch, watch my friend nearly throw away his life in a one-sided battle.

"You're a very strong girl, for one so young." Zeff said so quietly I almost didn't hear him.

"This is nothing compared to what we will have to go through later on. I'll just have to bear with this burden until I'm strong enough so it is no longer seen that way."

We were silent for a moment as Zoro unsheathed his swords, and Mihawk his kogatana. I smirked wryly when Mihawk said this was the weakest of the four seas.

"It'll be interesting to see the world's reaction when they find out the Future Pirate King comes from 'the weakest of the four seas'." I chuckled, earning a grin from Zeff.

"You're very confident in your Captain aren't you, brat? Though I suppose that's to be expected from a psychic."

I shook my head, detaching myself from my emotions as the duel started.

"Yes, I am confident in him, but not because I am a psychic." I said, turning to him slightly and pointing to my eyes with a digit. "These eyes can only see so much, but with what they've seen...I can confidently say that this straw-hat boy will become the second Pirate King, because he's not after the treasure. He's after the adventure."

A grim atmosphere permeated the air as Zoro slashed fruitlessly at Mihawk, who knocked him to the ground with one-handed ease. My lips were set in a grim line, and my brows furrowed as I bit down on my bottom lip, hard enough to draw blood. Yosaku and Johnny's cheering only made it worse for me, and I bit back a spiteful glare in their direction. It wasn't their faults, they were trying to deal with the tension and worry in their own ways.

I resisted the urge to screw my eyes shut to the spectacle before us, chanting to myself in my head that not turning away would make me stronger.

_I need to get stronger...I can do this, I'm just watching, he'll live. He'll live. He'll live...H-He'll live…_

"Hey Zeff-ossan…" He looked at me, slightly, with a raised brow.

I was subtly clutching the railing, my knuckles snow white and trembling with the strain of not launching myself over it.

"...I have the utmost of confidence in my captain...The same cannot be said for myself.." I said quietly, hearing him grunt in understanding. He would stop me if I tried to intervene in the fight.

I watched as Luffy held back Johnny and Yosaku, my chest swelled with pride, my lips twitching into a small grin, before it disappeared again. I was surprised Usopp wasn't reacting as strongly as I thought he would. _That kid is going places…_

"TORA-!" Zoro charged forward, his swords in one of his stances.  
I sucked in a breath, dreading what was about to happen, my shoulders stiffened and I stood stiff as a board.

"GARI!"

Mihawk stabbed him in the chest. Zoro didn't move backwards, but he couldn't move forwards for the kogatana still in his chest. Mihawk questioned this.

"Do you wish for me to pierce your heart? Why do you refuse to step back?"

Blood was pooling at Zoro's feet and dribbling down his chin and chest. "Beats me...Not really sure myself...But I get the feeling...That if I were to take even one step back right now, I'd lose something very important to me… A promise or oath… Or whatever it is would be irreversibly broken, and that I'd never be able to return back to where I'm standing right now."

"Yes, such is defeat."

"Haha...Then that's why I can't step back…"

"Even if it means your death…?"

"I'd much rather die."

A grin split my face and my grip on the railing laxed, I could watch this now. _Zoro knows what he's gotten himself into, and he's prepared. So, now I am as well._

"Kid...Tell me your name." Mihawk said, pulling out the kogatana with a small spurt of blood.

Zoro took up another stance, his strongest so far.

"Roronoa Zoro."

"I shall remember it, for your strength is not oft seen in this world." Mihawk promised, drawing the massive blade, Yoru, from his back. "And to pay my respect to you as a fellow swordsman, I shall end this duel with my black sword, the world's strongest sword."

The Krieg pirates freaked out, fearing the might of the blade. Mihawk charged forward, and Zoro spun his blades in a strange fashion.

"SANTOURYUU OUGI!-"

I grinned as I remembered Mihawk in the manga, he had been surprised by Zoro. I could remember the bead of sweat that ran down his face. _I'll be sure to remember this moment, the moment my new nakama set their path._

"SANZEN SEKAI!" Zoro finished, and blood erupted from his body. _He tried his best, and that's all I can ask for from my nakama._

All but one of his swords broke, Kuina's sword. He sheathed it and spread his arms wide, giving Mihawk an easy target.

"What..?" Mihawk was bewildered, though he barely showed it.

Zoro just grinned past the blood dripping from his mouth and said, "A wound on one's back, is the shame of a swordsman."

This caused Mihawk to grin as well. "Indeed." And he cleanly cut Zoro from his left shoulder to his right hip. Luffy snapped.

"ZORO! AAHHHH!"

Usopp screamed his name. Johnny and Yosaku were blubbering and wailing.

But I was grinning. I nodded to Zeff, and kicked off the railing, jumping from various bits of debris before I ducked under Luffy, who had rocketed towards Mihawk who had dodged easily. I merely blinked at Mihawk, before the grin on my face grew wider and I grabbed Zoro's sword from the water. It was all I could reach and the bounty hunter bros were already pulling Zoro out.

I carefully gripped the white sheath with both hands before giving a glance at Mihawk, and once again dashing across debris to the small boat they had dragged Zoro onto. I unsheathed the sword and placed it in the unconscious Zoro's hand, giving myself a satisfied nod before stepping back and thanking the forces above for not being able to smell.

**Wait! What sort of rabbit can't smell?!**

_I'm not a rabbit, I'm a human being dangit! You're the rabbit! I'm not!_

**That still doesn't explain anything!**

_I'll tell you later, Zoro's about to make his promise!_

I watched as Zoro slowly raised his katana into the air, to the astonishment of the onlookers.

"L-Luffy… C...Can you hear me…?"

"Yeah!"

"Sorry for worrying you… I know...That if I don't become...The world's strongest swordsman, it will only embarrass you…!" He coughed up some blood painfully and some of it splashed onto my cheek.

_Ew._

"**I SWEAR!"** Zoro had a hand on his forehead and he was crying. **"THAT I'M NEVER GOING TO LOSE AGAIN! UNTIL THE DAY THAT I FIGHT HIM AND WIN...I SWEAR! TO NEVER LOSE AGAIN! Any problems, Pirate King?!"**

Luffy chuckled and beamed at him. "Hehe! Nope!"

I sighed, the tension finally leaving my shoulders as I chuckled. "My gosh if you keep on going like this, I'll get gray hairs before I'm sixteen!"

_This is another moment I'm proud to be a Straw-hat pirate._

* * *

**Thank you all so much for all the reviews! I really appreciate them so much~! **

**If you think it's weird that Eve was grinning when Zoro got slashed, then good. Mission accomplished!**

**Thanks to all my new (and old, though I won't list them even though I love them) Favorites and followers!**

**Book Lover95, Carzygirl123, SugoiAuthorToBe, Windowasher65, batgirl1290, jackn37, and suntan140!~ Thanks so much~! If I missed anyone, please don't hesitate to let me know!**

**Until next time then, don't forget to review and eat your digital cookies! (::) (::)**


	11. Upgrade and Cute Electrocutions!

**Ack! I'm so sorry it took me so long to update minna! I've been very busy with life as of late... D: Sorry, but I do have one.**

**Anywho! Thanks to everyone who reviewed (you rock) and who followed and ****favorite'd me! You all rock~!**

I'm in a kind of a rush so I'll have to give the acknowledgements later when I have more time to edit. XP

Well, I've teased you long enough. LET THE READING COMMENCE!

* * *

**(Evan's P.O.V.)**

"Well that was a bit of a nuisance...But it's nothing…!" Krieg said, arms crossed with his grim grin on his face. "We were originally planning on abandoning this ship anyways, so who cares if it's been destroyed."

I narrowed my eyes as as the wind carried Krieg's words to us. I grit my teeth and shoved my hands into the pockets of my hoodie, my mind running a mile a minute trying to dissect the fight that will happen before it happens.

_I could prematurely grab buckets from inside to stop the fire, and hit Pearl with one? No, it wouldn't do much to that thick skull of his. Ugh..I could….Um...Darn it why am I so limited?!_

**Why don't you just take out Pearl?**

_...My god you're a genius. Puuya, what would happen if I were to touch the water? You never told me anything other than I wouldn't be able to swim._

**Oh! Well the electricity constantly coursing through you would electrocute everything within oh, I'd say about a hundred and fifty feet radius.**

…_._

**That's good.**

_Oh! Okay then. _

My attention returned to Krieg as he pretended to know everything in the world.

"DO YOU REALLY THINK A NORMAL HUMAN COULD TAKE DOWN THAT GALLEON?!" He roared, his temper starting to flare at his subordinates.

"W-What do you mean by that Don?!" A pirate (who I just named John,) stuttered.

"Isn't it obvious he's got some strange power from a devil fruit?!" Krieg continued, veins bulging in his forehead. "Devil fruit users, who we've only heard of from legends and hearsays, **the Grand Line is full of them!"** He exclaimed, causing me to scoff and frown at him.

_Ignorant bull-headed pig. He knows not of what he speaks._

I groaned softly as he continued to spout nonsense. "When will it end..?" I mumbled to myself, earning a confused look from Luffy who was hanging off of the Baratie railing and listening with everyone else.

"...And that method's written down in his travel log for sure!" I heard him declare, returning my attention reluctantly to the conversation. I never really was one to partake in long-winded conversations. I've always tried to be short and to the point. "There might even be information on One Piece as well!"

I sighed and started stretching my neck in my boredom as the Krieg pirates got pumped up from his little speech. I cupped my hands around my mouth and shouted at them.

"GET ON WI' IT ALREADY!"

I ignored the glares shot at me as they roared with a battle cry, donning their weapons. Luffy gaped at them from his position on the outside of the railing.

"Whoa! They're all fired up to fight too!" He turned around and grinned up at Zeff. "Hey ossan! It's a promise right?!"

Zeff grunted, his arms crossed indifferently. "You don't have to ask me twice. My restaurant would become a wreck if I let you work here for a whole year anyways."

"Oi, where's Patty and Carne?" Sanji asked a chef behind him, still smoking.

"Those guys are busy with the battle preparations! Those guys sure are reliable in times like these!" He said, grinning.

_Oh great, I'm surrounded by fanboys._

Sanji resisted the urge to snort and instead released a stream of smoke from his lips. "_Only_ in times like these. You better go to the control rooms and open up the 'fins'."

"Wha-! You sure? It'll only give our enemies a foothold!"

"It doesn't matter," Sanji shot back casually, standing near Luffy, Zeff, and I. "The geezer won't shut up if we fight inside the restaurant." Zeff overheard him apparently.

"You say something brat?" Zeff hid his grin well, underneath his massive mustache.

"Yeah," Sanji said, pulling the corner of his lips with a finger as he spoke to Zeff. "I said you won't shut up."

I chuckled before getting cut off by a loud shout from the pirates. "HAND THAT SHIP OVER TO US YOU PATHETIC COOKS!"

I sighed, turning to Luffy. I unzipped my hoodie before I tossed it behind me onto the deck.. "Oi Luffy," He looked over at me. "Mind knocking them into the water for me?" We grinned at each other as he nodded.

"Yosh! Let's get things started! Gomu Gomu no…" He said, flipping onto the deck and stretching his arms back as they gripped onto the railing. _**"ROCKET!" **_

_Aaannnnnndddd there he goes._

He was headed straight for the (now panicking) Krieg pirates. "Followed by.." He brought both arms back before whipping them out to the sides. "_**SCYTHE!**_" He clotheslined around fifteen off of the wreckage before catching himself on a mast just above the water. "Oof! Too close! Oi! Evan!"

I returned his grin, cracking my knuckles. "Nnn?"

"Your turn!" He called and my gloves were on.

The cooks were cheering at Luffy's power while Sanji sweatdropped slightly. "So the Grand Line is teeming with guys like him, huh?"

"If you say so Cap'n." I chuckled rubbing my hands together and generating a spark for half a second. "Now let's see here.." I vaulted over the railing and crouched, my hands inches from the water as a grin twitched into existence on my face. "_**Electro-**_" I started, vigorously rubbing my hands together before slamming them viciously into the water. "_**CUTE~!"**_ If I had blinked, I would have missed the electricity shooting across the water and the pained yells of the Krieg pirates getting zapped before they released their weak grips on the wreckage. They fell back in the water, floating unconsciously.

I straightened, my arms tingling from the unexpected release of energy. "Geeeeeeezzz...Is it just me or is the world dancing…?" I sighed, collapsing backwards against the railing, barely holding myself up on unsteady knees.

"O-Oi! Are you okay?" I heard some steps rush over and hands pulled me behind the railing and onto the floorboards. I groaned, a wry grin on my face as I was sat up against the wall of the Baratie by two chefs. "That admittedly took more out of me than I'd hoped."

I ignored Patty and Carne as they came out in the fish-head-paddleboat-thing, my ears were buzzing and I just lost a good chunk of energy.

_Ugh...What the heck did I just do..?_

**You expelled electric energy. At least a fourth of it.**

_That…was….AWESOME! HAHA!_

**Oh dear god help me.**

_How many are left?! I want more! I've never been so exhilarated in my entire life!_

**Oh why me…My boss has gone crazy…**

_I have done no such thing! Now, status report!_

**Okay fine, but you have to calm down. You took out twenty out of one-hundred pirates. There are now eighty left. Patty and Carne will take out ten, Sanji will take out fifteen in a few minutes, and then Pearl will show up.**

_I'll take care of that joker. How much did I just gain?_

My head snapped up as I saw Patty and Carne in their fishboat get kicked away by Sanji and I knew I needed to hurry.

**You gained 10UP, and 20 PSP's.**

_Right, okay time to upgrade my blade quality, it sucks._

I brought my right hand up to my face and started dividing the points as best I could.

_The blade upgrade costs all ten huh? Fine._

**[Level up! Hidden Blades: Lvl: 2] [Effect(s): +30 Durability, +5 Speed, +10 Strength, +15 Dexterity]**

I grinned as my arms hummed momentarily, the blades glowing white before the glow disappeared and revealed the upgraded weapons. The blades were now the same light shade of red-orange as my hair and the gloves. I whistled appreciatively at the sturdier looking blades that shone with their new dark blue metal. I flicked them in and out a few times, testing their weight and I was pleasantly surprised that they were lighter as easier to wield.

"Oh this is perfect.." I mumbled, a grin slipping onto my face as I felt the floorboards under me rattle slightly when Patty and Carne roared at the chefs for their cowardice. I shakily got to my feet, swaying slightly before standing with my regular confidence.

_Looks like I'm good now, guess I'll take out some of those goons for every scrap of PSP I can get._

I mused, walking to stand just behind Patty and Carne as they started ranting. I wasn't listening however, as I raked a keen eye over our opponents.

_Crud! There's barely ten there, I took out too many and now there's none left for me._

I pouted slightly, stepping back to lean against the Baratie as Patty and Carne had their moment.

"There ain't another place as good as this shop!" Patty roared, hefting his ridiculously large (and pointy,) fork.

Carne swung his large knife in sync with Patty as he exclaimed, "As if we'd hand it over to you scum!" They cut down the invading pirates with a fighting fury. "This is the power of fighting cooks of the sea!"

My head snapped up when I heard splashing in the water, and then Pearl climbed onto the deck.

"What are you guys doing?" Pearl sighed, bringing up the ridiculously large shields on his hands.

Patty merely raised an eyebrow. "Hmm?"

Carne looked just as confused from behind his glasses. "Who's this guy?" He questioned.

Pearl smashed them into the deck, causing blood to fly and I froze.

_Wait...What? No I don't remember this happening! THEY WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO GET HURT!_

"PATTY! CARNE!" I called out worriedly, my muscles tense and teeth clenched in anger as I struggled to not lunge forwards. My eyes were bulging with worry and intense fury as Pearl guffawed and gloated, blood dripping from his fist-shields.

"Hahahahahaha! Behold! My invincible iron wall!"

"Pearl!" The Krieg pirates called out in relief.

"Hahahaha! You won't be standing after my lethal punch!" He continued to crow, honestly making my ears want to bleed with just his annoying voice. "You just got a special taste of my **'Pearl Present'!**"

I positively glowered at him, about to knock that disgusting grin off of his face before my attention was averted to the fallen Patty. He was gripping his knife stubbornly, not letting a Krieg pirate take it from him even though his hand had started bleeding.

"Hm?! Hey let go! Let go of your dang hand! Just frickin' die already!" The Krieg pirate spat, tugging at the knife to no avail.

Sanji kicked the pirate in the throat.

He flew into a few of his other comrades and finally into Pearl's stomach shield with a satisfying "_**BWONG!**_" Though Pearl seemed unimpressed. Darn.

"No matter how many times I see it his kicks are still amazing…" A cook muttered in awe.

Sanji smoothly caught Patty's knife in one hand, sending a chilling glare towards Pearl. "A kitchen knife is the soul of a cook. It's not something an amatuer like you should even _think_ about touching." He said, slipping the knife's handle into Patty's weak, outstretched hand as he lay bleeding on the deck.

"S-Sanji…" Patty choked out, stunned he would do something so thoughtful for him.

"Here...Now make sure you kick the bucket for good this time. I'll take care of the rest." He said smoothly, his eyes never leaving Pearl's.

"You're just a cook! You think you can take us on?!" The few pirates left roared, brandishing their weapons and charging at Sanji.

They never stood a chance. He disappeared and reappeared in the middle of them, doing and handstand and swinging his legs in a circle and kicking those around him ferociously.

"Just a cook? I'll kill you scum." He glowered at them, positively furious.

"Hah! To beat up all of 'em using only your feet, you strike me as a rather lazy guy...Or is that your policy?" Pearl leered.

Sanji still had a foot raised as he grinned back evenly. "A cook's hands are his life. I can't risk fighting with 'em. But don't worry, my feet'll be more than enough to take you down."

I started sneaking behind Pearl, going relatively unnoticed as I smoothly wove my way around fallen pirates, my feet moving quickly and silently. My movements halted behind him, my body dwarfed in his shadow. I choked back a chuckle when Pearl "gloated".

"I've never even dropped a single drop of blood in all the fights I've been in. Not one. Single. Drop."

_That's not a necessarily a good thing you moron hahahahhahahaha!_

"Strawhat! You'll get hurt if you look away in a fight!" I heard Krieg say behind me and I flinched, my body moving without my conscious command. I lunged forward, jumping onto Pearl's back with my fingers firmly curling over the top of his shield and my feet landing on the protruding pearl imbedded into the armor.

"W-What? What are you doing?! Get off of me you brat!" Pearl stumbled around, trying to reach back and grab me to no avail. I felt like a ragdoll as I tried to climb the slick surface that was his back.

"Shut up and stop moving you idiot! You're so annoying!" I growled, pulling myself up so I had one arm wrapped around his thick, fleshy neck.

_Ugh, ew._

He froze, thinking I had a knife to his throat. Which, even though it was sheathed, I guess I did.

I finally had him still and didn't pass up my chance. When I was watching his movements earlier I realized I wouldn't be able to cut his large support straps - they were meant to hold up huge iron shields! So I decided on the much smaller hinges that connected the shields to the straps instead.

In one motion I smoothly flicked my right wrist and the blade slid out, causing Pearl's already tense shoulders to become absolutely rigid. In the same motion I slid the blade under the small hinges and swiftly cut them, rolling to the right and severing the one connecting to his left strap before dropping to the ground.

Just as Luffy collided with the back of Pearl's head.

Smashing his face into his hand shields that were frozen from trying to reach me.

Causing blood to rush forth from his nose.

And me to laugh.

Loudly.

"TOUCHDOWN!" I laughed, straightening and clapping Luffy on the back. "Nice shot! You nailed him right in the back of the head!" I grinned, walking past him towards a mildly surprised Sanji.

"He's all yours, I just evened the odds a bit." I winked at him, motioning over my shoulder with a thumb at Pearl.

"I could've taken him as he was." Sanji grumbled, releasing a breath of smoke.

I shrugged, a grin firmly on my face as I walked next to Zeff. My hands were in my pockets as I gave him a cocky smirk, to which he replied with a tired shake of his head.

"Are you always this reckless brat?"

I shrugged uncaringly, a pleased expression etched into my features as we stood there. "Monkey see, monkey do." I chuckled.

"Oh!" I smacked a fist into my palm, just remembering a _slightly_ vital piece of information.

"The Baratie's gonna get set on fire if he freaks out too badly." I commented casually, causing Zeff to rub his face with a hand.

I could practically hear him saying "unbelievable".

The Krieg pirates were freaking out, trying to calm Pearl down to no avail.

"Pearl it's fine! It's just a little nose bleed, everyone gets those! You haven't really been hurt at all!" They shrieked, sweating bullets as Pearl started twitching in shock.

"My...Iron wall was broken through! These guys're dangerous!" Pearl stuttered, sweating profusely.

"The heck's up with him?" Sanji asked, sweat-dropping slightly.

"It's just a little nosebleed…" Luffy agreed, sticking a finger up his nose carelessly.

"Pearl! Stop it! There's no need to go wild over a stupid nosebleed! This ain't the jungle!" Krieg roared, watching Pearl starting to slam his hand shields together rapidly.

The chefs started to shift with worry while the Krieg Pirates were flipping out.

"_Danger! I'm in Danger! __**DANGER!**_" Pearl screeched, flames erupting across his body in a burst of fire.

"Oh. Sheep." I said, my eyebrows raised in mild surprise. "It's hotter than I thought it'd be..Hmmph."

"Crap! he's doing that thing he learned to do while growing up in the jungle!" A krieg pirate screeched, pulling at his hair in panic. "Back in the jungle full of wild beasts, everytime Pearl felt that he was in danger, he has a habit of lighting a fire!"

"What?!" The chefs shouted. "It's his defense tactic against beasts?!"

"Wait a second…" I narrowed my eyes as I brought a hand up to my chin in thought. "Aren't his shields just on fire? Didn't he just light his stomach on fire since I cut down the shield?"

"_**DOn'T yoU dARe GeT cLoSe tO mE! FiRE pEaRl's-**_" Pearl suddenly stopped mid-sentence, his arms stretched skyward in mid-attack.

…

…

"_**IT BUrnS! AAAaaaAAAAAaaaAAAHHHhHHHhhHHhhhhHhhHHhHhhh!"**_ He screamed, running around in circles on the deck before Sanji finally stuck out a leg and Pearl tripped into the ocean.

…

"Well, I didn't see that coming." I chuckled at everyone's shocked expressions, clapping Zeff on the shoulder. "I think that just saved oh, about forty percent of the deck-" Pain erupted in the back of my head and I hit the boards, my chin slamming painfully into the wood. I felt something warm and sticky starting to bleed through the back of my bandana and I groaned as my head throbbed with dizziness. I tried to push myself up on shaky arms but something stomped on me and pinned me down.

"Oi! Gin! What's the big idea!" Luffy shouted in anger at someone to my left. My vision was blurry and my head was swimming. I just wanted to take a nap and have everyone shut up.

"Sanji please stop fighting, I don't want to end up killing you." He said, inching the double-barrelled pistol towards the back of Zeff's head. I felt something cold and sharp tickle the side of my neck and I suppressed a shiver of fear.

"Gin you..!" Sanji was angry beyond words.

_But if he's over there...Then who-_

"I wouldn't move if I were you, _Rabbit-chan_~"

* * *

**DUN DUN DUN~! Soooooo~ Was that a cliffie or what?~ I'm probably going to torture my readers and Eve/Evan a LOT throughout this story~ Hahahahah!~**

**On a completely unrelated note, Wow! I just saved myself...5 chapters of boring dialogue that Sanji would've had to suffer through when fighting a weakling like Pearl! Rock on! :D Haha, well, until next time then!**

**Ciaossu~!**

** (\/)**

**(OwO)**


	12. Primates and Pot Lids!

**AHO~~~IIIIIYYY Minna-san! I know this chapter is shorter than normal, but I don't think Evan could take much more insanity. SO! Enjoy this reallllllyyyy insane acid trip and tell me how you think I did~! **

**Acknowledgments**** below~!**

* * *

**(Evan's P.O.V.)**

"What…?" I coughed, eyes twitching from the effort of staying open.

_Smooth Eve, smooth._

"Who...Who are you..?" I swallowed past the lump in my throat, feeling the blade tickle my skin once more.

"Well, I'd be lying if I said I'm no one of consequence. Since I _am_ here to kill you and all. Yajahahahaha~" The man chuckled, his voice upbeat and cheerful as the blade stayed unwavering from its position by my neck.

My lips twitched soundlessly as I tried to form a response, my brain running a mile a minute.

_What did he mean by "Rabbit-chan?" Who is he? What does he look like? How did he find me? Why does he act like he knows something about me that I don't know? Who is he and WHAT IS HE DOING HERE?! _

Instead of getting scared, I got frustrated. _This wasn't how this arc was supposed to go! WHO DOES THIS CLOWN THINK HE IS?!_

Just as I opened my mouth to shoot off a sour reply, Luffy beat me to the punch. Literally.

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY NAKAMA, YOU JERK!" Luffy roared, his fist stretching and smashing into the mystery man's face. I expected him to go flying, and as I rolled over onto my side it certainly looked like he did, but…

_Did he just...Jump backwards into the wall...To make it look like he was pushed backwards?!_

I felt Puuya stiffen in realization, but I paid him no mind for my eyes were still wide open in shock.

"What...The heck.. A Furry? I thought I already took care of one of those…" I mumbled to myself in my slightly delirious state. (I had a minor concussion!)

**N-No Boss-san that's..! **

My vision finally fell into focus and I got a good look at the man who looked unfazed in the slightest as he dusted rubble off of his muscled shoulders. He had burnt-caramel colored skin, and well-toned muscles that were in obvious view from underneath his open crimson vest, not dissimilar to Luffy's. His eyebrows were strange, like a pair of cut up rectangles that moved in an arch as his expressions changed. His hair was a stark bright blonde in contrast to his darker, tanned skin. It was fuzzy and short, close to his head much like Doflamingo's, though he had two delicate braids hanging from his left temple. The braids were held together at the roots with a pair of large blue beads, adorned with an exotic blue peacock feather, and a purple peacock feather. His eyes were an odd yellow color, _neon mustard._ I decided. The man was wearing the aforementioned crimson vest with the word "criminl" written across the chest, a classic red fez, and puffy orange parachute pants. (The pants were smaller to and less ridiculous than Enel's, but of the same type of clothing.) He wore a pair of simple geta sandals and weilded an average cutlass with nothing remarkable about it.

_Like he just picked it up on the way over here...Who is this joker?_

But his attire was far from the strangest thing about the mystery-man.

He had a **tail.**

He had a tail and **monkey ears.**

I rubbed at my eyes, sitting up and blinking rapidly. The furry light orange tail and ears were still there.

"What the heck?" I saw my confusion mirrored on the faces around me, the Krieg Pirates not included. They were positively elated.

"It's Gin and Lee-sama! We'll win for sure!" They cheered, grins breaking out all around.

My face was still a mask of confusion, and apparently "Lee-sama" found that very funny.

"Yajhahahaha~ You seem a little star-struck little Rabbit-chan~ Am I really that amazing?" The man now known as Lee chuckled, kicking the cutlass from the ground and into his left-hand's grip.

**Eep! Boss-san we need to run, now!**

_But who is he? And what do you mean run?_

**That's the Monkey! **

_Yes I can see he's a monkey, but who is he?_

**No! Not "a monkey", THE Monkey! He's the living embodiment of the Zodiac Monkey!**

_Okay, so, that's like...One out of a hundred questions answered. Question number two: WHY THE HECK IS HE TRYING TO KILL ME?!_

**I-I E-Er..U-Um..!**

It seems I had unintentionally annoyed him by accidentally ignoring him as I talked to Puuya. At least, that's the conclusion I came to as I hung from his grip around my throat in the air. He wasn't necessarily choking me, but it wasn't a comfortable angle. My hands automatically sprang to his hand around my neck, but his grip was stronger than titanium. This man was way out of Luffy's league.

_I need to get him away from the others so the story can progress!_

"Pay more attention Rabbit-chan~" He whined slightly, frowning. "It's rude to ignore someone you just met!"

I gave him a wry grin, my eyes the only thing betraying the throbbing in my head. "I'll remember that the next time someone gives me a minor concussion and puts a sword to my neck."

"My punch didn't do a thing…! Evan!" I heard Luffy call worriedly behind me. "That guy's dangerous!"

I chuckled, before a few short laughs cascaded from my mouth. "No shiz! I had no idea! S'okay Cap'n! I'll fight my own battles, you fight yours!" I called over my shoulder, feeling Lee's eyes burning a hole in the back of my skull. I turned around and met his curious gaze with a quizzical one of my own. "What? Is my face so devilishly handsome that you've fallen for me?" I mocked him. I saw a flash of amusement in his eyes as he grinned.

"Fine~, We'll fight elsewhere~! Wouldn't want to have to kill Luffy-sama, no?" He chirped, suddenly switching his grip to the nape of my neck and before I could blink we were on the back deck of the Baratie.

I fell forward as he released his grip on me, and my body moved without me telling it to. I put out one hand and spun around on it, swinging my feet under me as I straightened in one smooth motion. I looked just as surprised as I felt. "Guess that's what 'AGL' does." I mumbled half-heartedly to myself, grinning despite the situation.

I straightened, my eyes narrowing slightly and a firm frown set on my face. "So remind me again why someone I just 'met' is trying to kill me?"

Lee quirked his lips into a smirk, spinning the cutlass around in his hands rapidly as if it were child's play. "If you survive, I'll tell you." He said, suddenly lunging at me and barely giving me any reaction time.

"WHOA!" He was _**WAY**_ faster than Kuro! My instincts were the only thing stopping the cutlass from turning me into sashimi. I constantly brought my arms up, my blades sparking from the speed of his relentless slashes. I was fighting a losing battle, my energy was already waning from the effort of diverting his slashes. I couldn't take his hits head on - he was much too strong, my blades would break.

But I had to try, I was not willing to die.

Duck, block, roll to the side, jump, block, block, slash, block, roll forwards, duck, block, leap back, I was helpless. I went where he coaxed me with his sword. I grit my teeth in frustration, leaping backwards once more, my eyes widening as I realized the ocean was right behind me, lapping eagerly at my heels. Lee's lazy posture hadn't changed the entire time- he was _**toying**_ with me.

Lee lazily stood with the sword levelled at my neck, inches away from ending my life. He almost seemed _disappointed._ "I honestly thought you'd last longer Rabbit-chan. Oh no fun~" He sighed. Time seemed to slow as I felt renewed energy flow through my veins.

Puuya had snapped out of it and kicked it into gear.

**Somebody ask for an adrenaline shot?**

_FINALLY!_

My leg muscles tensed just as his wrist muscles did, the cutlass starting its motion towards my neck. I jumped.

No, I don't think you get it, I _**JUMPED.**_ High, like, super high. Clear over his head and onto the boards behind him kind of high.

There were no words for how awesome that felt.

"HECK-YEAH!"

Oh, I guess there are.

I ducked suddenly, hearing the '_whoosh_' of the blade narrowly missing my head as I did so. A cold feeling settled in my stomach and my body shivered with fear, the idea of death just now setting in.

**CAN YOU BE ANY SLOWER?!**

_SHUT UP AND HELP ME RUN!_

I blinked at his mildly surprised expression, and then I spun around and ran as if the devil himself was on my heels. I hissed as I felt him nick my left calf teasingly, blood dripping onto the floorboards. I ran past a closed door, flinging it open and diving inside, leaping over the island as I found myself in the kitchen.

Full of sharp things.

Like knives.

Lots of knives.

I ducked as one of them impaled themselves into the boards above my head. I grabbed the closest thing on my right and threw it at him, already reaching for something else. He laughed as he ducked under the bronze pot and easily swatted away the plastic cutting board I threw at him.

"Rabbit-chan this is really pathetic-" He ducked underneath a barrage of forks and spoons, a ladle thwacking against the wall behind him. His smirk twitched slightly in annoyance, his eyes becoming hard. "Rabbit-chan you're just delaying the inevitable."

I nodded in agreement, to his surprise. "Agreed, but you've got to admit, I'm pretty darn good at it eh?" I chucked a cleaver at him, hitting the wall by his head. He didn't even flinch. I gulped, chewing nervously at my bottom lip as he continued to stride forward carelessly. My eyes searched the kitchen desperately for anything, anything at all that could help me live if even for just a moment longer. My eyes landed on two pot lids and my frown turned into a wicked grin.

"Eh?~ Find something to continue this game a little longer Rabbit-chan?~" I flung a knife at him as I lunged for the lids, my hands closing around the handles as I straightened with a triumphant smirk. "I'm getting bored~" He frowned, raising an eyebrow as he waited oh so patiently for me.

I just rolled my eyes and cut the strap holding on of the shelves onto the wall, sending a few pots tumbling onto him. I jumped over him once more, bolting up the stairs behind him and down the hall. I felt him running easily behind me, sometimes cutting the wall just behind me as if to urge me forward. The small cuts on my body from when I hadn't been able to block earlier stung as I ran up the second flight of stairs and burst through a door. I skidded to a halt as I nearly fell over the railing. We were on the third-story roof.

I spun around to race back inside to try to find a window, but I couldn't take a step as the cutlass tickled my throat.

_There goes that plan out the window. Now I just look like an idiot holding lids._

"Ah, no where left to run now eh?~ Well, at least I had more fun than I thought I would.~" He mused, tilting his head to one side as if to look at me from a different angle. A thought seemed to strike him as his jaw tensed momentarily before he suddenly shot me a question. "How old are you, Rabbit-chan?"

_WHAT._

"My age?" I asked incredulously, eyes wide with confusion and fear.

He nodded impatiently, sighing in annoyance. "Yes, your age, how old are you?"

I gulped past the knot in my throat, hardening my gaze with determination.

_I won't let Luffy see me be afraid before I die._

"I'm fourteen."

His eyes widened comically, he actually stumbled backwards, shock etched into every fiber of his being. "What?"

Now it was my turn to be confused. "I'm fourteen." I said slowly, in case he didn't hear right.

_What's the big deal? Wasn't he going to kill me a few seconds ago?_

Fury erupted onto his face, though I had a feeling none of it was directed at me. Suddenly he grabbed my shoulders roughly and made my position against the railing all the more uncomfortable. "How long? How long you been here?!"

I was at a loss for words, my brain running a mile a minute to try to comprehend _anything_ that's going on. "What?"

He shook me slightly, his eyes piercing mine intently. "How long since you woke up here?"

"I-I-E-Er um, about a week or two?" I stuttered, utterly bewildered as his eyes widened even more before he released me and whistled in surprise.

"Not bad, considering ya' just got here and all.~ Yajhahahahaha~! How interesting.." He muttered to himself, assuming a thoughtful pose, the cutlass forgotten by his feet.

A jolt went through my body as my mind finally pieced things together.

_"Wouldn't want to have to kill Luffy-sama no?"_

"_to kill Luffy-sama no?"_

"_Luffy-sama"_

"_**Luffy-sama"**_

"Y-You're from my world!" I blurted out suddenly, pointing at him in surprise. He gave me a condescending look.

"No, really? You're slow, for a rabbit." My eye twitched in irritation, no longer feeling like he wanted to kill me.

"What the heck are you doing here?!" I choked out in my surprise.

He sighed, leaning against the wall of the Baratie as he rubbed at his forehead with a hand.

"Well, how to put this simply...You aren't the only 'Host' here. In fact, there are ten others like us."

"Us'? I dunno if you noticed, but I do not have a tail." A sinking feeling permeated my gut, my fingers started to twitch in nervousness, fearing what was to come.

He waved my words off carelessly, continuing his explanation. "Just listen to me, you'll thank me later. You're in a lot of danger Rabbit-chan. You're very lucky that I found you first, the younger ones are a lot more...Careless."

"YOU NEARLY KILLED ME NOT FIVE MINUTES AGO YOU BI-POLAR FREAK OF NATURE!" I yelled at him, the panic and fear I was hiding in my eyes now prominent in my frightened expression.

I was expecting a lot of things to happen after my outburst.

I did not expect him to hug me.

"I'm so sorry Rabbit-chan, I'm so, so sorry you are here. Life is cruel to the kindest and kind to the worst of us. I promise you, I'll never hurt you again. You shouldn't...You shouldn't have to be here…" He grit out in frustration, hugging me tightly as I stayed rigid with shock.

I think my brain just melted.

_I gratefully fell into the warm darkness as I fell unconscious._

…

**Nope! You're still awake!**

_I hate you._

"U-Um..I-I think you're breaking my ribs!" I croaked out, falling to my knees as he let go, muttering apologies.

He suddenly clapped his hands in a decisive manner. "Right! That's what I'll do~! I'll get in trouble today and not kill you!~ I like you Rabbit-chan, so I won't kill you, okay?~ The odds are against you Rabbit-chan! Will you be able to survive?~ Well, we shall see~!" He chuckled, poking the middle of my forehead playfully as I stared at him uncomprehendingly. He waved over his shoulder as he walked to the end of the railing. "See you soon my little Rabbit-chan!~ Yajahahahahahaha~!" He jumped off, and escaped my view.

…

_I'm still holding pot lids…_

I couldn't handle it anymore, I fell forward and lost consciousness with a soft whimper.

* * *

**A/N:**

**BAM! Out like a light yeah?~ Heheheh XD I'm so mean~!**

**Please don't forget to review! I would really like to know how I did with the fighting scenes X3 (If you can even call them that.)**

**Acknowledgements~!:**

**Thank You For Following Or Favorite-ing!:**

**AnniBananni, CircleOfAnime, CountessDraculara, Gatoconbotas964, GozenReiji, Katistheawesome (**Aye gurl, sup?**), Littlebirdd, Manami Uchiha, MidnightStar64, PhoenixTears21, Wolfie Burns, .bookworm, batgirl1290, beast4ever, squirpsdolphin, Aria868, B-rabbit28, Emperor XX, Kid Leviathan (**Heeeeyyyy I know you**~), Koolkat1573, Niie-pyon, V.I.Y.H, XxHeartMenderxX, pokemondemon123, **and last but not least**, sleepinglush **-san!

**If I missed anyone please don't hesitate to correct me! Thank you all so much and I hope you enjoy your metaphorical cookies! (::) (::)**

**Until next time then, Ciaossu Minna~**


	13. Touching Moments All Around!

**AHHHHHH I'M SO SORRY IT TOOK ME SO LONG! LIFE IS A NECESSARY DISTRACTION! I want to thank all of my followers, favorites, reviewers, and viewers because I find much energy and motivation when I see you appreciate my hard work. ;w; Thank you so much! We're almost to 50 followers and I'm so excited!~~**

**Again, sorry this chapter took so long, life is hectic what with my BIRTHDAY coming up next week! :D**

**No, I'm not turning 9 you trolls.**

**Anyways! Please enjoy the chapter, read, review, repeat!**

* * *

**(Evan's P.O.V.)**

"OH MY GOAT WHO LEFT THE TOASTER ON SILENT?!" I shot up in place, the blankets falling off of me and to the floor as the ship went silent.

…

…

"Were you here the whole time?"

"No, I just came to get you since no one could wake you up." Sanji replied, a little startled by my sudden outburst.

I was in a guest room on the Baratie, from what I could tell from the sparse decor. I was on the ground, tucked into a bedroll someone had set up with a familiar white hoodie next to me.

"Er, how long have I been out?" I asked, a sheepish grin on my face as I felt a light blush warm my cheeks. I pulled my hoodie on stiffly, some of the bandages on my body restraining my movements slightly. I felt a bandage on the back of my calf, two on my left arm, and one on my right elbow from where I must have banged it when running.

Sanji relaxed again, hands in his pockets as he leaned against the doorframe. "A few hours, some cooks found you passed out on the upper balcony with a few cuts on you. How are you feeling? Can you walk alright?"

I grinned at his concern, the blush long forgotten as I leapt to my feet like a kid on a sugar high. Or a Luffy on a meat binge. "I'm fine thanks. Erm...Where'd my bandana run off to? And my Captain's probably running around somewhere.."

Sanji led the way out, shaking his head at my energy. "Luffy's with that other guy on a ship waiting for us out front. I don't know about your bandana though, sorry."

I shrugged it off, walking next to him as we headed downstairs. "Other guy?" I questioned, blowing my bangs out of my face in annoyance with a huff.

Sanji smirked, talking around his cigarette. "Yeah a guy crashed through a wall while in the mouth of a panda shark and smacked right into me."

"Yosaku." I said, deadpanning.

_Who the heck gets eaten by a fish? And a panda no less._

**I have a cousin who's a panda.~**

_Oh really? You'll have to tell me about him later. He sounds...Pandastic._

**Ooh boo!~**

_Hah!_

Sanji raised an eyebrow at the name. "How do you figure?"

"Uh, hello?" I smirked up at him, tapping my temple with a finger. "Psychic? I can see the future?"

We rounded the corner and the front doors were in sight. "Oh right, I didn't really believe in psychics to be honest." A thought seemed to strike him and he turned to me slightly. "Hey wait, if you can see the future, then why did you ask who I was talking about?"

The awkward silence stretched between us, only broken by the sound of our casual footsteps.

"So...That bag you're carrying...You've finally caved eh?" I smirked up at him, amusement clear in my face.

Sanji mumbled something incoherent before he chuckled. "Yeah, guess we're crewmates now, huh?" He stopped as we reached the open doors, looking at the chefs gathered on the patchwork fin outside.

I grinned, nudging Sanji with my elbow as I walked past. "Y'gotta say 'bye first, hentai-shefu-san.~"

He whipped his head around to glare at me as I skipped away, waving at Luffy excitedly as I approached. "Cap-tain-san~! Yosaku-yowamushi-chin~! Don't freaking leave without me you jerks!"

"Ah, they're here." Yosaku said, a grin on his face as if he hadn't heard my new nickname for him. Darn.

"Evan! You're awake! That's great! Shishishishishishi~!" Luffy laughed, grinning as I high-fived him, climbing onto Sanji's boat.

"Yosh!" Things quieted as Sanji stepped out, his bag slung over a shoulder casually as he stared straight ahead, eyes pinned casually to the boat.

_He's very casual today._

**Hwahahahahaeeee~! **

_Indeed. HWAHAHAHAHAHAEEEE~! *Insert amused giggle here.*_

Suddenly, Patty and Carne were behind Sanji, mid-swing with their respective giant cutlery. "This is payback for all those years!" Patty grit out, eyes bloodshot.

"Die, Sanji!" Carne crowed.

Sanji didn't even flinch.

"Told ya you couldn't beat him." A chef commented, crouching next to the beaten bodies of Patty and Carne as Sanji proceeded as if nothing had happened. I stifled my chuckles by biting into my fist.

_Ba-kas~_

The silence ensued again as Sanji finally reached the end of the fin, and the boat. "Let's go." He said, unslinging the pack from his shoulder.

A look of confusion flashed across Luffy's face. "Just like that? What about saying good-byes?"

"It's fine." Was all Sanji said, before Zeff said something from his position on the upper deck.

"Hey Sanji." The blonde froze, eyes wide as he started to sweat laboriously. "Don't catch a cold." The mask broke and Sanji's tears fell.

"OWNER ZEFF!" He exclaimed, falling to his knees and bowing his head as he face him. "I AM ETERNALLY GRATEFUL OF YOU FOR TAKING CARE OF ME FOR SO DANG LONG! I SHALL NEVER FORGET FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE, THE DEBT I OWE YOU!" He sobbed, emotion thick in the air.

Zeff shed a few rare tears of pride, Carne and Patty shouting in joyful unison. "YOU JERK!" Tears cascaded from their faces as well. "DANG IT WE'RE GOING TO BE LONELY WITHOUT YA! REAL LONELY YOU HEAR?! I'LL MISS YOU!"

The other cooks were sobbing messes now, having watched Sanji grow up over the years as well. "YOU'RE MAKING US CRY DANG IT!"

Everyone (myself and Luffy not included,) were sobbing messes. Zeff was crying quietly, a hand over his eyes as he grinned. "Idiots...Men should say their goodbyes silently." He chuckled wryly.

Sanji was deeply moved as the tears continued to flow. "**LET'S MEET AGAIN SOMEDAY! YOU GOOD FOR NOTHING JERKS!"** He shouted, smiling through his sorrow.

Luffy was beaming a grin the whole time. He spread both arms into the air and drew breath. "ALRIGHT! LET'S SET SAIL!"

"Aye Captain!" I chirped, untying the mooring line.

_I may know more than the average fourteen year old about ships, but right now I only understand that we're tied to the ship._

**Hahaha~ You're happy today.**

_Something wrong with that?_

**I'm just trying to figure out your personality.**

_Pfft, good luck with that!_

We waved farewell as our little boat drifted farther and farther away from Sanji's home. Towards the horizon, and an island filled with walking fishsticks.

_Mmmmm...Someone better bring the tartar sauce, because I'm about to open up a can of butt-whup on them fishies!_

* * *

**(Evan's P.O.V.)**

I was currently sitting against a barrel a few feet away from Sanji, Luffy, and Yosaku as I kept an ear on the conversation for anything of importance. I was trying to not remember the conversation Lee and I had, fearing that my brain would be overwhelmed again and I would be no help whatsoever if that happened.

I listened with a lazy expression and my arms crossed over my chest as Yosaku fruitlessly tried to explain the Shichibukai to Luffy. I snorted as Luffy tried to draw a fishman, first one horizontally and then one vertically.

"Here Luffy, let me see the paper and marker if you would." I earned a few confused looks, but he complied as the others eyed me with mild surprise before picking up the conversation where Yosaku left off, Arlong's "terrifying" strength.

I listened as I carefully maneuvered the marker on the pad of paper, my tongue slightly sticking out in concentration and my brows furrowing every time I made a mistake. I was drawing Hachi as best I could, because I loved his personality and the fact he helps Keimi later on. The others were heading inside to eat so I decided to follow them, not wanting to be left to my thoughts.

As Sanji prepared Luffy's meat and Yosaku's stir-fried bean sprouts at the small stove the ship had, he glanced at me from the corner of his eye as we sat around the small table. "What would you like to eat, Evan?" He asked, returning his attention to the stir-fry. I put the finishing touches on Hachi, before signing it with an "EV~" at the bottom right corner of the page.

"I'm fine thanks, not hungry at all."

Luffy toppled over in his seat before jumping right back up. "Sanji! Quick! Get Evan some meat! I think something's wrong with him!" He panicked, popping up around me as my tick mark steadily grew.

"Luffy, personal space." I said, putting a hand out and pushing his face out of mine.

Sanji gave Luffy and Yosaku their food before letting out a stream of smoke from his lips. "I don't think he's hungry Luffy."

I winced as I realized he was smoking inside and I started coughing erratically, my face turning red from the effort of trying to breath. "S-S.." I couldn't get a word out as I coughed.

_Sorry, I shouldn't be coughing. It's rude of me._

Luffy looked concerned as he shook my shoulder.

"Oi, Evan? You okay?" He asked worriedly, I could only shake my head and cough into the crook of my arm, my other hand clutching my chest.

"I'll be..F-Fine I'm going to go get some air." I managed, stumbling out the door and leaning against the railing in relief, taking in huge gulps of air.

_...I hate smoke so much.._

**Why? It's just smoke, it's not like you're the one who is smoking, and you can't even smell!**

_It hurts my lungs alright? I'm sensitive!_

**Ahahaha~ Boss-san is sensitive!~ Hahaha!~**

_...You done?_

**Yes.**

I sighed, my breathing finally evening as I enjoyed the salty sea air. I heard the door open and close behind me, and footsteps joined me by the rail.

"...Sorry about that..I didn't know smoke would bother you so much." Sanji said, grinding his cigarette on the rail.

"What? No, no it's not your fault, it's okay!" I said, waving my hands awkwardly. Sanji just raised an eyebrow, before pulling something out of his pocket and holding it out for me.

"Here, you left the sketchbook in there. What exactly did you draw? It looks like an octopus-man."

I took the sketchbook from him with a small smile. "It's an octopus fishman, he's gonna fight Zoro."

Sanji raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Really? Am I going to fight anyone?"

Now it was my turn to raise an eyebrow. "Oi! I can't spoil the entire adventure for you! That'd suck all the fun outta it for me!"

He chuckled and shrugged, turning to go back inside. "Fair enough."

I smiled, tucking the book into my pocket as I pulled my hair behind my ear. Then I realized I lost my bandana and a feeling of loneliness enveloped me as I slumped over with a depressing aura.

_We've been through so much together and now Orangie's gooooooooonnnnnneeeeee~_

**Uh, "Orangie?"**

_Yeah, his name was Orangie! YOU'VE GOT A PROBLEM WITH THAT?!_

**No, I mean Orangie! As in, HE'S ON MOO-MOO!**

My head snapped up as the ship rumbled with Moo-Moo's movement next to the ship as he glared down at me.

I sighed.

"LUFFY! I FOUND MEAT!"

* * *

"I can see Arlong Park!" Luffy shouted in excitement, the giant cowfish (manatee?) pulling our boat along quickly. The poor thing was sweating so hard I almost felt bad for it.

"Hey! Don't get tired now you hippo!" Sanji scolded it once it had started to slow. "Hey! You're swimming the wrong way! Turn to the left!" Moomoo had veered to the right, towards Cocoyashi village.

_Cheeky critter ain't he?_

"We're going to crash into the island!" Yosaku screeched, crying.

"AAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHH!"

I just threw my hands up in the air and cheered. "IT'S LIKE A ROLLERCOASTER!"

**A rollercoaster without seatbelts.~**

…

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!"

* * *

**One terrifying trip through the sky later...**

"Ohohoho why meeee~" I moaned, shoving Luffy off of me. "Why couldn't I land on the rubber instead?!"

"Shishihihihi My bad Evan!" Luffy chuckled, dusting himself off as he stood. The others got up as well while Zoro grew shark teeth.

"WHAT THE HECK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" He roared, bleeding slightly from his head.

**How the heck is he still conscious?! He just got hit by a ship!**

_Pfft, physics indeed._

"What do you mean?" Luffy asked, dumbly. "We've obviously come to get Nami back. Haven't you found her yet? Where's Usopp and Johnny?"

"Usopp? Oh crap!" Zoro jolted and got to his feet, hurriedly wiping the blood off his head with his arm. "Now's not the time to be wasting time!"

"Hm? What's wrong?" Luffy asked again.

Zoro halted mid-step to answer hurriedly. "That idiot got himself caught by Arlong! If we don't hurry up, he'll be k-"

"_**HE WAS ALREADY KILLED!"**_ Johnny's voice suddenly interrupted him. I looked around for a second before spotting him just a ways away from Zoro with a crestfallen expression. "It's too late…"

"...Johnny?" Zoro said, silently asking for him to elaborate.

Johnny lost his composure and wailed. "BROTHER USOPP WAS MURDERED BY SISTER NAMI!" He sobbed, breathing heavily from him running hastily to deliver the news.

Luffy ran up to Johnny and held him by his shirt in his rage. "Say it one more time, and I swear I'll kick your ass!"

"Luffy, stop! It's not as if Johnny's the one at fault here!" Yosaku tried to reason, tugging at the back of Luffy's vest in vain.

"WELL HE'S LYING! **THERE'S NO WAY THAT NAMI WOULD KILL USOPP! WE'RE CREWMATES!"**

I shifted uncomfortably on the wreckage I was sitting on, a mild frown on my face as I watched Luffy and the others.

_Do you think it'd be alright if I got them off his back by "predicting" what happened?_

**I don't know Boss! You're the one in charge here, you decide!**

_SOME HELP YOU ARE!_

**Bleh~!**

"Don't you stick your tongue out at me I will come in there and give you the beat down of your life!"

…

_I just said that out loud didn't I?_

**Pfft..BWAHAHAHAHA~!**

_SHUT UP!_

"E-Er...Carry on.." I waved my hand awkwardly, "bidding" them to proceed. I noticed a bit of orange on the ground from the corner of my eye and I reached over to pick up my bandana happily. I dusted off my bandana with a few good thwacks and put it in its rightful place on my head. Having avoided a nude-headed crisis, I returned my attention to what the heck was going on.

"...-And 'crewmates'? Don't make me laugh. It was nothing but a stupid little cooperation." Nami said coldly, her eyes icy as she spoke emotionlessly.

Sanji was either too dense to care about what was going on, or way too lost in the "hurricane of love" to save. He was blushing like a perverted moron as he waved enthusiastically to her.

"Na…! Nami! It's me! Do you remember me? Let's set sail together~!" He beamed, about to get in one of the first of many fights he would have with Zoro.

"Shut up! Can't you see you're making things more complicated by butting in?!" Zoro scowled, veins bulging in his head.

Sanji returned the glare with a dark one of his own. "_**What was that? Don't you know that love is always a hurricane?**_"

I felt rising annoyance bubble in my gut as the morons squabbled while Nami was going through so much pain…! I felt I would snap soon if someone set one more toe out of line.

And as fate would have it, idiocy was at it's prime today.

"I TOLD YOU SO! SHE'S A WITCH!" Johnny shouted, pointing at her in anger. My fists started shaking and I bit my lip as I jerkily stood. "She's a cold-blooded witch through and through! You've all been deceived from the start, and I swear I saw her stabbing Usopp!"

"...So what?" Nami said, arms crossed and a cold smile on her face. "Would you like to try and avenge him? Let me tell you one thing. After the idiotic stunt that Zoro pulled, Arlong wants Roronoa Zoro and all his companions dead." Nami's eyes flashed darkly for half a second before the coldness returned. "No matter how monstrously strong you may all be, you're no match at all for the real monster."

Zoro swatted away her words. "I couldn't care less about that. Where's Usopp?" A smirk twitched into existence onto my face and I put my hands in my pockets as I spoke at the same time as Nami.

"At the bottom of the ocean."

"-On his way here.~"

Shock flashed in Nami's eyes as everyone turned to me, with curious expressions.

I tilted my head to the side in a scheming manner, lazily lifting a hand to point at Nami's gloved one. "Nice glove Nacchan, is it normal to only wear one? I wonder…" I mused, cockily walking over to her rigid form. "Did you perhaps...Fake Usopp's death?"

Johnny was speechless while Zoro and Sanji's eyes flickered with hope. Luffy was emotionless as he always believed in Nami.

My eyes softened and I put a hand on her shoulder sympathetically. "Luffy wouldn't have left no matter how hard you yelled at him Nami-san, I'm just trying to lighten your burden. You're his naka-" I whispered softly, not bothered when she suddenly jerked back and shouted at us.

"FINE! DO WHATEVER THE HECK YOU WANT! YOU CAN DIE FOR ALL I CARE!" She lied, running off towards Cocoyashi village.

True to form, Luffy was laying on his back in the middle of the road as I slouched against a tree. Zoro and Sanji took their own resting positions before Johnny and Yosaku bid us crazy people farewell. I guess I was more exhausted than I had thought, for before I had even realized it was happening, I dozed off.

* * *

A/N:

**Awwwww Pooooorrrrrr NAAAAMMMIIIII D': I felt so bad for her when I wrote this. Almost as bad as how bad I felt for keeping my readers waiting so long!**

**I love you~ ;w; Sorry cookies? (::) (::) AND NO THEY DO NOT LOOK LIKE BOOBS! -.- (You know who you are, yeaaaahhh you, right there. I see you hiding!)**

**Acknowledgements!: Thank you for following and/or favoriting!: delmelio, cruelistnightmare, c4talys7-29, bsdurler, Noctis D. Crow (**_Love your name, it's so cool!),_** Manami Uchiha (**_Say hi to Sasuke for me!)_**, MidnightStar64, Futuyaro son **(Cough cough, wink wink, YO~!) **Manic Archmage, PokemonNarutoLover, hinata-ni, pokemondemon013 (**Sorry if I didn't mention you earlier! Sorry!**) and lastly, but not least!..ly, wolfzero7!**

**Thank you all so much! And you guest reviewers! I haven't forgotten about you! You exist! *whispers* I love youuuuuuu...~ owo**

**Haha! Anyways! Thanks for reading and I hope you all lead good lives! Until next time then!~ (And if you think you've seen the last of my evil ****cliffies, well, mwahahahahahahahaha!...)**

* * *

**futu! I'm glad you're enjoying it, I am too! :D**


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